Where the Line Blurs
by mayarox95
Summary: It's the middle of sixth year, and Harry has been suspicious of what Draco has been up to. Draco, is confused. For once in his life, he isn't sure what the right path is. It should be easy, kill off Dumbledore and finally win his father's respect. So why does it seem so wrong? So what happens when Draco finds that he is on the wrong side of the war?
1. The Vanishing Cabinet & The Frustration

**Chapter 1**

In the times of the dark and powerful reign of Voldemort, it was often thought that the more connected you were, the safer you would be. By that logic, Draco Malfoy should have felt like one of the safest people in the world. After all, he was from one of the purest lineages that the Wizarding world had to offer. His family, the Malfoys, were a highly respectable one. Everyone knew who they were and no one tried to cross them. His family even held ranks within the inner circle of the Dark Lord himself. So why was it that Draco was now fearing for the life of everyone he held dearly?

Draco watched the cabinet eagerly. He had been working on it for months, just cleaning it up and trying to get it to work properly. His time was quickly ticking, like the grains of sand of an hourglass, falling at a rapid pace. He needed to make progress fast, or it would be too late for him and everyone else he cared about. He was in the Room of Hidden Things, as he found it was called. It was in an area that he was fairly certain none knew existed, so it made it all the better to use for his mission from the Dark Lord himself.

His aunt told him that it was a real privilege. That doing this would be good for the Malfoy name. The Dark Lord had told him that it would help him redeem his family's wrongdoings in the eyes of those who mattered. His mother, however, didn't say a thing. He knew that she was scared for him, but that it was not her place to say anything. So she kept her distance from her only son. Draco wasn't sure what to think. It was what he had wanted for as long as he could remember. Now he would be able to help rid the world of the old crack-bag of a Headmaster that Hogwarts possessed, while finally being able to please his family at the same time. He would finally have the respect of his father, a man he had been trying so long to please. So why did he feel so unsure and conflicted?

"Get a grip," he scolded himself. He was just feeling nervous because of his recent failure. He needed to keep working on this, so he could get it right.

He placed the tiny yellow bird into the dark depths of the cabinet, hoping for the small animal's sake, that it would work. He closed the doors and closed his eyes. He felt the seconds tick away, until several moments had passed. He opened the door gingerly, hoping that something had changed due to the several repairing spells he used since the last time he used the cabinet. He looked inside and felt his heart fluctuate upon seeing nothing inside the hallowed space. It had worked! The bird had vanished to the twin cabinet in Borgin and Burkes. He closed the door again, and waited for a few more minutes to pass. He loosened his tie nervously as he waited, hoping that for once he would be successful in the task he received over the summer. He once again opened the cabinet, only to find that the once lively yellow bird was now lying on its side at the bottom of the cabinet. The yellowness had paled considerably and all the life had been sucked out of the small creature.

"Damn it," he thought inwardly as he kicked the cabinet in front of him. Once again, he had failed to meet the task he had been given. He slid down against the wall behind him and buried his head between his hands. He felt like screaming with frustration. "Why is life always so unfair to me?" he thought bitterly as a few angry tears glistened, filling his pale green eyes.

It seemed sometimes that everyone else had it easier than he; people like Potter. Draco would never admit it to anyone else, but sometimes he felt jealous of the Boy-Who-Lived. Not because he wanted his life or the fame; Merlin knows that the Malfoys held enough prestige. But Potter had something that Draco knew he never once would have for himself. He had friends who were loyal to him. Potter had people by him to support him through everything he went through. Even if they were as lowly as a mudblood and a blood-traitor, they had still been there for him through the years.

He laughed mirthlessly. It was far more than what Draco could say for himself. Sure he had his minions Crabbe and Goyle, and he had the respect of his housemates, but it was different. Slytherins didn't make friends, they made alliances; ones that could easily be broken if a better match came along. There was no sense of loyalty or compassion amongst the cold hearted creatures of Slytherin.

It seemed that nothing had been going his way with the task he had received. He had no idea where he should start when he first received it. He had been scared out of his mind, and it didn't help that it felt like his forearm was about to burst from the stinging of the newly imprinted dark-mark. He started planning on one big plan, which involved the usage of the vanishing cabinets.

But once he realised that it would be a lot harder than he had initially thought, he began thinking of other schemes as well. Although, the first one had failed miserably, leading him on a downward spiral of failure and anger. First his plan with the cabinets kept causing him a new problem with each attempt, and then the plans he had schemed concerning Bell girl had just crumbled in front of his eyes, as she had touched the cursed necklace before giving it to Dumbledore. It seemed that every time he found some sort of solution to one of the problems with it, a new one arose. And each new problem was even worse than the prior one.

On top of that, it didn't help that Potter was getting highly suspicious of Draco. The half-blood had his eye on him from the moment they had arrived at Hogwarts. Draco was sure that Potter knew something, but was determined to make sure that he did not spoil everything. Draco's mission was hard enough as it was, and the last thing he needed now was for Potter to screw it up.

Draco stood up hastily as he made his way away from the cabinet. There was no use spending any more time on it today. He was already tired and while it wasn't past curfew, he didn't want to be caught doing anything deemed suspicious. The last thing he wanted was to get a detention from that _Squib_ Filch.

As he walked with rapid strides, he wiped the marks of anger from his face. While Crabbe and Goyle were stupid enough to stand guard for him and not ask questions, it didn't mean the rest of his house was. The ones closest to him knew he had some sort of task, but weren't allowed to be let in on the specifics. But they would be one of the first people to say anything if they found tears on his face. As together as Slytherins could be, they were also extremely quick to tear each other down. If they thought there was a chance they could get higher up on the Dark Lord's graces while continuing to bring down the somewhat soiled name of the Malfoys, then they would.

He closed the door carefully, and walked away from the room, as if he never was coming from the place. He raised his head to show his usual pride and contempt, and made his way down to the dungeons.

* * *

Harry stormed out of the classroom. He was absolutely livid with the way that _Snape_ had just belittled him.

"How dare he just throw the idea away like its bloody rubbish? Maybe I didn't have any concrete evidence against Malfoy, but that's not to say that he isn't guilty," Harry seethed.

They made their way over to the changing staircases and climbed up them quickly. They had long since learned that it was better not to take too long on them, especially after the incident in their first year.

"Harry, will you just give it a rest already?" Ron said exasperatedly as he hurried up the stairs behind his mate.

Harry stopped in his tracks, causing both Ron and Hermione to bump into him. He turned around and faced his friend furiously. "I thought you supported me on this!" he said accusingly.

Ron looked taken aback, and raised his arms in defence. "Mate, I never said I didn't. But you keep repeating the same things to some of the only people who do know where you're coming from. There really is no use in telling us over and over again that the Ferret is a Death Eater," he said hurriedly.

Harry sighed, as he turned and resumed his path to the Gryffindor tower. "Sorry," he muttered to his friend. It had been a long day, and he was at his wits end. Not only had he had to endure watching Ginny snog his roommate Dean Thomas at the Three Broomsticks and listen to Ron rant the entire time about how she shouldn't be doing such things in public. It wasn't like he cared about what Ginny wanted to do, but Ron wouldn't give it a rest. And on top of that he had also nearly lost a friend and teammate over the cursed necklace incident. On top of that, Katie Bell was being sent off to St. Mungos, so Harry would have to quickly find a replacement for her for the team. As it was, Quidditch was getting to be quite stressful, but now this had happened as well.

Even though his back was still turned to his friends, he was much aware of the fact that they were currently exchanging looks. He knew they were both just as worried as he was, but neither one had said much about it. Both of them had just sat there when he told them of his suspicions at first.

He had been so convinced that Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater. After all, the Malfoys were as bad as a family as there could have been. They thrived off putting those they deemed beneath them down. Malfoy rarely missed a chance to snub Hermione about her blood, or mock Ron from being from a family that did not have as much money as he did. And he was no better to Harry either. Since the day when Harry had turned down the offer of friendship, Malfoy had often found reasons to discredit him by any means necessary. So it didn't surprise him in the slightest when he saw Draco head into Knockturn Alley back in August. He knew that there was something big that Draco was working on, but he wasn't sure what it was.

The only problem was that very few people believed Harry. While it was highly suspicious that Katie Bell was just cursed by a necklace, the behaviour was far from rare in a time of war and danger. She simply could have been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

As the trio entered the Gryffindor Common Room, they noticed that it was several notches quieter than the usual rowdiness that the room often held. Harry guessed that most of them had heard about the incident with Katie and as the gossip began to spread, many had their own theories about the incident.

"I hear it was because she was in a secret relationship with Harry and Hermione got jealous."

"Are you daft? Hermione and Ron are obviously together."

"Yeah right, that's why the pair of them are barely seen speaking on civil terms."

"It's obviously because they're keeping it a secret."

"I think she was cursed by a Slytherin, because they wanted her off the team."

"Like they have the brains to pull it off."

"Are you saying the Ravenclaws are behind it?"

"I think they teamed up together."

"Why wouldn't they just go for Harry then?"

"Have you considered the fact that the wrong person may have just picked up the necklace?

And so it continued, with each student having a different theory about who would try and do off Katie Bell. Harry closed his eyes, trying to block it all out. They had sat down on a couch in front of the fireplace. Hermione was leaning on one arm of the couch, while Ron slung himself over the other. Harry sat in between the two of them. There was a slight tension among his friends and one again, Harry had no idea why.

Sighing, Harry decided to let it go for now. He stared into the fire, wondering when it was that his life had changed so much. This year had been easier in a sense. No one thought he was some sort of attention hogging child, but at the same time it had gotten increasingly difficult. After third year, Harry felt like he finally had a connection to his parents. Sirius and Remus made it easy for him to imagine what their lives were like and they gave him a sense of family. But when Bellatrix ripped Sirius away from him, Harry once again felt alone. He knew he had the Weasleys and Hermione there for him but losing his Godfather left him feeling empty.

He watched the embers of the fire dance before his eyes as he listened to the slow brewing argument stirring between his two friends.

* * *

Harry was halfway through his breakfast when the owl post of that day came in. On the front page of the Daily Prophet was an article featuring an attack on another muggle city.

_**Death Eaters Strike Again**_

_Janine Dwiggle_

_Since the recent exposure of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named at the Ministry last summer, the rising Death Eater activity has been at its all-time high. Just several days ago, the muggle town of Wiltshire was hit in a raid. Several muggles were left dead, while almost twenty were injured in some way or the other. _

_These questions leave us wondering for our safety. If we do not know who around us is guilty, then how can we expect any sort of justice? We do not know who around us is involved in these activities, nor do we know the potential targets. It seems that it is not only muggleborns who are being targeted by such attacks, but few of other blood statuses as well. This leaves us wondering: who will be next?_

_Several members of the Wizengamot have asked for permission to reconsider a law almost passed near the first wizarding war. This entitles the wizarding society to carry identification cards with blood status labeled on them. These cards may be seen by any ministry member upon request. The court is still deciding on necessary actions and whether the law should be passed._

"_I feel that it is necessary!" an angry shop owner in Diagon Alley says. "I should have the right to know the status of who I chose to hire in my stores. It's not that I have any prejudices towards those of muggleborn status, but I do have the safety of my family to consider. (For more Death Eater activity, turn to page 13)_

Harry looked over to where Hermione was sitting. While he himself was a half-blood, he still feared for his friend's safety. He knew she would not be happy with this new law and knew that it worried her. He could see it in her eyes whenever she received any sort of mail. She always looked frightful, as if she was afraid that one of them would deliver news about the death of her parents.

Harry knew she didn't blame him for the constant worry, but he could help but feel partially responsible for her fears. Not only was she a muggleborn, but she was his friend. And that certainly didn't do her any help in the eyes of those who tried so hard to crush her repeatedly.

Her eyebrows were furrowed together worriedly, as she read the article on the front page of the paper. He knew she was angry by it, and it was to no surprise to him when she stood up suddenly.

"Harry, can I speak to you in private for a moment?" she asked him quietly.

Harry nodded at her request and stood up. He followed her out of the Great Hall and the two of them headed to a secluded area of the school. Once they reached an area where no one was, Hermione cast a few silencing spells. She must not want to be overheard.

"Harry, I think you're right about Draco," Hermione told him after a few moments of silence.

Harry raised an eyebrow, "So you believe me?" he asked, feeling a bit surprised.

"I'm not completely sure if he is a Death Eater, but I do think he's up to something. He seems paler, and at meal times he hardly touches his food. In our lessons, he doesn't copy any notes down, but looks like he's in deep thought about something else. There's something different about him Harry. When I saw him in the hallway the other day, he didn't even make a comment to me. He didn't make a single nasty remark or send a single curse my way. It's like he's gone," she said, in a rushed voice.

Harry looked at her, in shock. "Why have you noticed all of this Hermione?" he demanded suddenly. It worried him that she was paying so much attention to the boy who often made their lives miserable.

Her face reddened. "It is nothing like that Harry! I was trying to see if you could be correct with what you thought. And that was what I observed."

He relaxed slightly. "So what do you think we should do?" he asked his friend.

She looked a little undecided about how they should proceed. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. I think we should make sure that something is going on before we act upon it first, but at the same time, we should also be aware that he potentially could be working on some sort of plan around the school."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Alright," he confirmed before adding, "And Hermione?" he asked.

"Yes?" she asked, as they started walking back to the common room before their first class.

"What's going on between you and Ron?" he prodded, curious to know why it was that they were fighting so much. Ron and Hermione often did fight, but something had changed this year. It was more forced; as if they were finding reasons to fight with one another.

"Nothing," she said, her cheeks reddening for the second time today.

Harry chose to let it go, knowing that the two of them would tell him if anything ever did happen.

* * *

**A/N: **Hello readers, I'm back! I know I said I needed a while to plan this story, and I'm still in the midst of figuring a few of the details in the middle the first eleven chapters have been completely planned out, so I saw no point in waiting to post this. But once again, if you have any pairings or small details of things you would like to see happen, please let me know. I will be trying to post every Sunday or so, seeing that school is quite busy this year. Let me know what you think :)


	2. Meeting Myrtle & The Second Meeting

**Chapter 2**

Draco was literally at his wits end. Over the last week he had made no progress in the slightest with the Vanishing Cabinets. He just wasn't sure anymore what he could do to get it work. And on top of that, his aunt had sent him a letter, saying that the Dark Lord was growing impatient.

He walked in the hallway, alone so he could gather his thoughts. When he wasn't in the Room of Requirement, then he kept to his own solitude. It was easier than socializing with the rest of the Slytherins. If he were with them, then he would have to listen to their rants against mudbloods and how they polluted the world. Sure, he agreed with them. After all, why did people who happened to be freaks of nature deserve to live in their world of prestige and power? They had simply gained their magic by chance. But as much as he believed that, he did not want to have to listen to it any more than he had to.

He kicked a piece of litter that was left on the floor with emotion. He didn't get why it had to be him. Plenty of other Death Eaters had been at the Ministry that day when _Potter_ decided to go and tear his family down. So why were the Malfoys the one who were being punished? Other Death Eaters had children too, so why was he the one who was here now?

His housemates could tell something was up. Draco was always boasting about his accomplishments. They all knew he had a special task from Him, and he could practically sense the envy on their faces. They wanted what he had. They all wanted to be specially chosen by Voldemort himself, and it made him sick. He had heard Blaise and Theo talking one night once they though he was asleep about how they were jealous and would love to be where he was. He knew that they would, as most Slytherins, do whatever it took to be in his place. And if that meant tearing him down, then so be it. It sickened him, to see the people he considered to be the closest thing he had to friends, want to be where he was standing.

Draco had walked into the Prefect Bathroom, and shut the door. He had often come in here when he needed somewhere to think; when he needed somewhere that he could be alone. He turned on the tap and allowed the water to flow into the sink. He placed his hands under the tap, collecting the substance in the cup he made with them. He threw the water upon his face, allowing the cold water to refresh him. He let out a frustrated sigh.

It bugged him. How much they wanted to be in his shoes. Why didn't they get it? Why didn't they understand that it wasn't all that cut out to be? That he had to actually_ murder _someone. Sure, it was Dumbledore, the man who ruined Hogwarts, but to commit such a task as that?

"Such as what?" he heard a voice call out from behind him. He turned around in a panic. He had been positive he had locked the door. His eyes rested upon the silvery figure of a young girl. But that was just it, she wasn't really a girl. She was a ghost.

"What did you hear?" he demanded, growling at the sight in front of him. The last thing he needed was for someone to know of his plans when he wasn't supposed to be discussing them. If she heard, then he was as good as dead.

She rolled her eyes at him. "No need to be so rude. I just heard you speaking about some sort of task. I have no idea why you are getting so worked up about it."

Draco relaxed slightly. So she didn't know. Well at least his inevitable death was pushed off slightly longer. But her presence brought up another question.

"Why are you in the bathroom?" he demanded again, however this time less harshly.

"I was lonely in the loo on the first floor, so I decided to go through the pipes. And when I heard someone up here, I was curious to see who was in here, instead of in classes," she said as she floated closer to where he was. Her hair was in two pigtails and her glasses were circular such of those as Potter's. Pansy and her friends would have given her hell if she were alive for her looks, as there was nothing flattering about them.

"So are you going to report me now?" he asked the ghost in front of him snidely.

She let out a high pitched laugh, "As if I would care whether you are skipping are not." Well that was new. If it were Peeves, then he would have no trouble reporting him.

"Then why are you in here?" he asked her curiously. He found himself relax a bit more, now that he knew she hadn't wanted to report him, nor had she any idea what he was talking to himself about.

"I told you. I was lonely," she said simply.

"But what if I were naked in here or something, what would you have done then?" he asked her smirking. She looked like the kind of girl who would have gotten all bothered and shy at the thought of seeing someone in a state of nudity.

But to his surprise, she answered, "It wouldn't be anything I haven't seen before," she said, with a sly look upon her face.

He found himself smirking even wider at that. "So do you just come in here to stare at the naked blokes? Or do you stare at naked birds as well?" he taunted the ghost who was now sitting, if you could call it that, upon the ledge of the bath.

She shook her head rapidly. "It's not like I stare or anything. I've just caught a few unfortunate glimpses over the years of things I shouldn't have seen, and wish I hadn't seen."

He found himself laugh at this; genuinely laugh. It was the first time in months that he felt relaxed around someone else without worrying about the consequences of his task. "So who exactly are you?" he asked the ghost girl.

She gave him a look as if to say, 'you really don't know?' But she answered his question anyway. "My name is Myrtle. I'm sure you've heard of me."

He winced because he had. He had over the years heard many things about Myrtle, or Moaning Myrtle to be precise. He had often heard girls make remarks about the weird ghost who haunted the girls' lavatory on the first floor.

"Oh," he said, not knowing what else to say.

She had a twisted look on her face. "I take it you have heard of me then," she said quietly.

"Yes," he said back. He felt bad about the things he had heard. Draco hadn't ever seen the ghost that the girls would laugh at, but he never once gave it a second though. What did he care if some girls thought that a ghost was a psychopath? It wasn't anything that had concerned him, so he didn't bother with it. But remembering it all now made him feel a bit bad.

"Did they tell you that I was always in there crying? Or did they tell you about the ways they love riling me up?" she asked after a little while. He knew it was a question he hadn't needed to reply to, that it was more of a statement than a question. But for some reason, he felt the need to respond.

"Was your death horrid?" he asked the girl. He wasn't sure why he cared in the slightest. But there was something about her that wanted him to get to know her. She seemed lonely, like he. And for some reason, he felt himself connecting with her.

Myrtle blinked in surprise. He guessed it wasn't a question that she had received very often. "Yes it was. But it was quick and painless, so for that I am glad. I suppose I prefer it than the way Nick died," she said, referring to the Gryffindor ghost.

"What happened?" he found himself asking again. He was sincerely curious and he didn't know why. It was a new feeling, to care about someone other than himself. Sure he cared about his family as well, but other than them, there was no one else he did care about.

"I still don't know. All I do know is that I was in the loo crying since some girls were teasing me again. And then when I heard a noise, I shouted for them to go away. I heard a man's voice, talking in some sort of whispers in a language of hissing. I went out, to tell him off for being in the girl's room, but the minute I did, I saw yellow eyes. And just like that, I was dead," she said, finishing her story in whispers.

Draco felt a pang of guilt. He knew of the Chamber of Secrets and that it killed a mudblood more than fifty years ago. He guessed that Myrtle was the victim to one of the Dark Lord's early crimes. He felt even worse, knowing that this girl was here, opening up to him about her death, when he secretly was a part of the group who was responsible for her death.

"I'm sorry," he managed to make out. He didn't know what else to say. 'I'm sorry you died. It sucks, and now you're here talking to me, a person who is going to commit a similar crime?' Somehow that didn't seem right.

She shrugged. He guessed by now that she had come to terms with the fact that she was dead. "So why were you talking to yourself anyways?" she asked him, while changing the topic.

Draco felt a rush of defence arise inside of him. "I don't see how it's any of your business," he said haughtily to the transparent girl. He felt slightly bad about it, but he didn't want to be gossiping about something that could result in his death, even if it was with a dead girl.

She huffed, "If you can't tell me then you could say so nicely. There really is no reason to be so rude all the time."

"I'm sorry," he found himself saying. He never apologised. He was Draco freaking Malfoy. What did someone such as he need to apologise for? But yet he found himself making out the words. They felt strange on the tip of his tongue, and he supposed it was because he rarely used the words before. "It's just that it's something that I am not allowed to talk about."

She nodded, "I understand that. But if you ever need to talk, then just remember that I am here. And I also am very good at keeping secrets. Besides, I'm dead, and as you can see, there are not a lot of people I can go off and gossip to," she said, gesturing to her ghostly form.

He smiled at the girl. There was something about her, as strange as it was, that made him want to open up to her. It wasn't that he had any feelings towards her, Merlin help him if he did. As messed up as he was, he wasn't that screwed in the head. But for the first time, there was someone who actually cared about what was happening in his life, even though they barely knew him. It was a weird sensation for him, like nothing he had ever felt before.

It was that she wanted to be his friend. Yes that was it. And there was something about her wanted him to open up. Maybe it was the fact that she was lonely as he was. The fact that someone else knew how his life was like made him feel a bit better. He knew it was too soon to trust her, if he ever did at all. He had only known the girl for a short time, and it was most definitely not wise to let her in on his biggest secret yet. But maybe as time grew on he would be able to open up.

"I have to go now Myrtle, but I'll see you around," he said, as he turned to leave. His first class had ended and he didn't want to be absent from too many classes as it would raise suspicions.

"Wait," she called out, causing him to turn around. "I don't even know your name."

"It's Draco, Draco Malfoy," he replied. He turned to leave before he could see her expression. He was certain that it was filled with disgust, so the last thing he wanted was to see it.

Little did he know that her face showed none of those expressions. Instead, it showed intrigue, and a bit of sadness.

* * *

Harry sat in the lesson with Dumbledore that night. He was in deep thought, thinking about the memory he had seen of the young Tom Riddle in the orphanage. Just a few short years ago he had found himself relating to the dark wizard, thinking about how they were so similar. Little did he know that he was the reason Harry ended up the way he was. There was something about the boy that confused him. He and Harry had similar circumstances growing up, both without parents and with little love. So how did he turn into something completely monstrous?

He knew that his father abandoned Tom, but was that enough reason to hate all muggles alike? Not all of them were awful.

And then there was the matter of Malfoy. Harry was certain that there was something wrong with him, but he had no proof. And because of that, there was nothing he could do on the matter.

Dumbledore seemed to sense that something was bothering him, "What's on your mind Harry?" the man asked him gently.

Harry didn't want to let the professor know about his reactions to Voldemort, so he decided to just talk about the latter matter on his mind.

"Professor, I know that you don't believe me about Malfoy and that I have no proof at all that something is happening with him, but I really believe that he may be a death eater, or at least have some sort of mission from Voldemort. And I am not alone on this. Hermione believes it too. She's said that he had gotten paler, that he doesn't eat, doesn't pay attention in class, and seems to have lost interest in everything. I know that there is something up with him, but I don't know how to prove it. And while I can't stand the bloke, I don't want to see anything happen to another innocent person," he said, finishing his miniature rant.

Dumbledore did not look upset. He didn't look disbelieving or shocked by his accusation. Instead he looked like he agreed with Harry.

"I do believe that once again Miss. Granger's observations are correct," Dumbledore told him.

Harry stared up, full of shock, "So what do I do Professor?"

"I know that it may be hard for you to hear Harry, but I do not believe that there is anything you can do. I know all about what is happening with him, but that matter is something that I cannot reveal to you. You will just have to trust me on this," he said.

Harry shook his head. "Professor, what if there was a way to change his mind? Maybe if I could convince him not to do whatever it is, then maybe he wouldn't. I could stop this Professor, I know I could! I just need to get him to listen to me."

Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, I will let you try and do so. I would love for Mr. Malfoy to fight on our side, but if his mind has already been made up then there is very little that I can do about it. But I do warn you to be alert, or you may end up as you had on the Hogwarts Express."

Harry winced at the memory, "Yes Professor. I shall be careful in how I approach this."

Dumbledore nodded and Harry knew he was dismissed. He left the Headmaster's offices after a goodbye, and headed down the stairs.

One thought haunted him all the way down. How on earth would he convince Draco to listen to him? The two of them could barely exchange pleasantries. Instead they often exchanged insults and hexes. It would be tricky, and hopefully he would be prepared this time if Malfoy chose to attack him. The last thing he wanted was to go through that ordeal once more.

But he had to do something. While Draco Malfoy was bloody horrible, he wasn't a killer. And that was just what Harry was afraid of. It wasn't so much that he cared about him, but more of the people around him. And if saving Malfoy was what he had to do, then so be it. Don't get him wrong, he still didn't like Malfoy. And he probably never would. But he didn't believe that anyone should have to go through what he was at the moment.

So his mind was made up. He would just have to save Malfoy.

* * *

He waited for a few days before making his next move. He wanted some time to plan out what he would say and do. Harry had spotted Draco on the map and decided to move in on his target. Putting it away, Harry stalked off.

He saw the pale boy in front of him, and took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"Malfoy," he shouted out. The boy turned, and had an astonished look on his face. It wasn't every day that the two of them spoke, much less spoke without the slightest amount of distaste in their words.

"What do you want Potter?" he sneered, as he pulled out his want. "Want a second dose of what I gave you on the train?"

Harry kept his cool despite the words. "No, actually I wanted to talk to you."

Malfoy looked suspicious, "What about?"

"I know that Voldemort," Malfoy flinched at the name, but Harry kept going, "gave you a task this summer. I know that you are a Death Eater," he said, pausing.

The blonde got defensive, "I do not know what you are talking about Potter," he said, hissing.

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about Malfoy. And I want to help. You don't have to do whatever he told you. Dumbledore can help you if you go to him."

He sneered again, "I have no idea what you're talking about Potter. But that crackpot won't be around much longer to protect you. And if you were wise, you wouldn't talk to me again," he spoke coldly, before stalking off.

Harry stared after the boy, pondering the meaning behind his words.

* * *

**A/N:** Chapter two! Thanks for all the reviews on the last chapter. I wanted to take this moment to inform you that there will be several changes from the book, seeing that it is a fanfiction. In this, Draco is still a prefect. There will be a few events from the book that happen earlier or later, or in a completely different manner/not happen at all.


	3. The Difference Between Her and Them

**Chapter 3**

Hermione made her way anxiously to the Great Hall. As she woke that morning, the only thing on her mind was finding out what had happened between Harry and Draco. She could tell from the way he had angrily stomped up to his room the prior night, that there had been some sort of exchange between the two enemies. The only problem was that Harry proceeded to his room so quickly that Hermione couldn't get a single word from him. He had brushed off all her attempts by stating that he was exhausted and just wanted to get to sleep.

To an onlooker, it wouldn't look like much. As Quidditch captain that year, Harry was constantly at practice. And when he wasn't there, then he was generally with either Hermione or Ron. So to a person who didn't know him that well, they might simply suspect that Harry was indeed tired.

But to Hermione, it was a completely different case. She saw the way that his eyes dodged hers. When he couldn't make eye contact with her, then Hermione knew that something was up with him. She also knew that he wanted and was planning on talking to Malfoy. So the question was what had happened?

She had caught up with Dean and Seamus, who had told her that Harry was long gone by time they had gotten ready. It was odd for either Ron or Harry to be down at breakfast on a Saturday before nine, unless there was Quidditch that day. So for her two friends to be down before her meant either one of two things, they wanted to avoid company, or Ron was starving. And while the ginger boy was often hungry, Hermione suspected it was the former in this case.

She walked through the doors to the Great Hall and saw Ron stuffing his face with a muffin, while Harry stared glumly down at his plate. Hermione took a seat next to the 'Chosen One', as the Daily Prophet had taken to calling him.

"Harry what happened?" she asked quietly. While there was next to nobody in the near hearing distance, the last thing she wanted was for someone to overhear any of their conversations.

"I talked to Malfoy yesterday," Harry said quietly. That was it. He didn't offer any more or less details, so Hermione knew that she would need to pry.

"And what happened?" she asked, prompting the boy to her left.

"Hermione, I talked to Dumbledore about it yesterday. He agreed with you, and said that Malfoy was probably under a lot of stress from Voldemort. He said that Voldemort was angry with the Malfoys for the incident at the Ministry of Magic and now he was taking it out on Draco. And as much as I hate him, he doesn't deserve that. But just talking to him yesterday made me so tempted to change my mind. Why should I try to help someone who doesn't give two cares about the rest of us?" Harry said, pausing.

Hermione cringed. It wasn't as if she hadn't known that this would happen. What else did she expect after asking Harry to talk to the boy who often made her life Hell at school?

"I'm sorry Harry. I know how hard it must have been to set aside your differences and talk to him," she said sympathetically.

"What else did I expect? Why would he put aside his prejudices and choose to fight for a bunch of blood traitors, half-bloods, and muggleborns? I bet he's secretly happy to have received the task that he did. I mean now he finally gets to take part officially in the act of killing those he finds to be below himself," Harry spat out bitterly. He took a bite out of a croissant from his plate to avoid having to say anything for a little while longer.

Hermione was in a half mind to yell at him. Maybe if he acted according to a thought out plan, then it would have gone slightly better. But Hermione knew that it never would have happened. Harry was far to rash in some of his actions and gestures. While the guy usually had great intentions, they weren't always perceived as such.

But to be completely fair, Hermione knew it wasn't Harry's fault, well at least not entirely. It was after all Draco Malfoy that he was dealing with. And while the Slytherin was generally known for torturing the muggleborns of the school, Hermione knew he was no killer. So with that said, it was fair to say that she didn't believe Harry's thoughts on the matter. Yes, he was a bit of a monster at times. And yes, she hated him more than anything for it. But he was not a killer, was he? She knew that while it was her sixth year as a part of the Wizarding world, she was still relatively new to the entire situation. But if there was one thing she knew, for both muggles and wizards alike, was that most people made the choices they did for a reason. And Draco Malfoy was no Hitler. He did not go around killing people for being beneath him. Curse yes, but killing did seem like a bit of a far stretch.

"I don't know why you guys care so much about this," Ron said through a stuffed mouth. He spat out bits and pieces of the food from his mouth, but thankfully due to the distance from him, they were saved from being showered in food. Real attractive.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. She knew that she would be dreading the answer, as she often did when he spoke. Ron and she never have had the best of friendships. They were often fighting over the littlest of things, and the words they exchanged were more than often words out of spite for the other. But there was still something about the freckled boy that drew her in. And no matter what she tried, she couldn't seem to get him out of her mind.

"It's just that he's Draco Bloody Malfoy," Ron explained, using his wise words. Seeing the blank looks upon his friends' faces, he chose to elaborate. "It's Draco. He's made our lives hell, Harry. You said it yourself, he probably loves the fact that he's a part of Daddy's club now. Why would he want to stop and join our side?"

Hermione scoffed at this. "Do you really think that he enjoys being forced to do what his Master wants him to do?" Hermione asked sceptically. She could hardly wait for the answer he came up with.

"Yes, I really do. Hermione, you don't get it. You're a muggleborns after all. Draco is a pureblood; probably one of the purest of the purebloods. So why would he want to give up his status, and the entirety of his fortune, which I assure you is quite a lot, so he could join us?"

"I don't see your point Ronald. What if he hated what he had to do? What if he simply wanted to get out of all of it, and try for a chance for a future where he could do what he wanted, and not what everyone around him wanted him to do?" Hermione asked the boy hotly.

"My point, is that why would someone like him, want to listen to someone like you Hermione?" He said out exasperatedly. The way he spoke made it seem like the most obvious thing in the world.

And don't get her wrong, she knew. She knew that she was far different from the Malfoys. She knew that they considered her to be a freak of nature. And that someone like her who possessed magic didn't deserve to be in their world. As far as those purebloods were concerned, Hermione was no better than scum. And she knew that. But it was one thing hearing it from them, and another thing hearing it from Ron.

"I don't see how my blood has anything to do with him wanting to change sides Ronald Weasley. Just because I happen to be a mudblood, doesn't mean that he is happy doing what he is right now. And as far as I'm concerned, I will try and help as many people as I can. I will do whatever it takes to help Harry defeat Voldemort, and if he thinks that Draco is up to something, then I will do my best to stop him from doing so," she said glaring.

"Hermione if you think that you can do anything to stop him then you are bloody nuts. Malfoy is a monster, and he will never even give you a second glance. People like him, and people like you just don't mix. The Malfoys are a part of a world that might as well be different from the one we are in. You and he are different, not just because of your blood, but because of your personalities. And if you so much as try and say anything, then he will hex you," Ron said hurriedly.

Hermione stood angrily from the table. She couldn't believe the audacity of the boy in front of her. How dare he belittle her? Like he was any better than she was. "Well Ronald, it is a great thing that I just happen to be the best witch in our year, now isn't it?" she said annoyed. She turned around, and walked out of the Great Hall. The last thing she wanted was to have to listen to him any longer than she had to.

Harry watched glumly as his best female friend stomped off angrily. Did she and Ron always have to break into fights?

"Ron, I know that what you are saying is true, but do you think you could work on your phrasing a bit? Hermione hates it when she is put down due to her blood status. It drives her crazy and you know that," Harry reminded him.

Ron shrugged nonchalantly and resumed stuffing his face with a bagel that he picked up. Harry simply shook his head at the sight before him, feeling a bit disgusted and the loss of an appetite.

* * *

Hermione walked with a fast pace. How dare Ron degrade her as if it meant nothing whatsoever? Yes, she knew that she was of muggle descent. But did that really make her less than everyone around her? So what if she was? It didn't mean that she was a freak of nature or anything as such.

It didn't matter that she worked so hard to achieve the highest grades. It didn't matter that she was the best in their entire year. No matter how hard she tried, people were not able to see past the fact that she was of muggle descent. In their eyes, she was worse than scum; better for nothing than to be stepped on. And with Voldemort on the rise, more and more people were starting to believe that.

She would never admit it to anyone that she felt insecure about this. It would only give them ammunition against her should they need it. But it really scared her. Every time she received the owl post, she dreaded going through it. Part of her was half afraid that she would receive a letter telling her that her parents had died at the hands of Death Eaters. And that thought killed her. She was so afraid that she would be the cause of her parents' death. It didn't help her case that she was Harry's friend. While she loved the boy to death, a part of her was afraid that they would try to get to him through her. She knew that it would kill Harry as well to know that he was the cause of her suffering, so she never voiced her fears to him. Of course she would never stop being by his side because of it. The only way to make it all end was to help him destroy the thing that scared the Wizarding population.

She was so engrossed in her conversation, that she hadn't even noticed the boy around the corner heading with the same speed as she. She ran straight into him, and the collision caused her to fall straight to the ground, her books falling everywhere. She looked up, apologising profoundly to the person she had knocked over, only to find herself staring into the grey eyes of the person who had indirectly caused her foul mood.

* * *

Draco looked up to see who it was that had caused him to fall over. Upon lifting up his gaze, he saw that it was none other than the mudblood that the Gryffindors had deemed to be their princess. Of course it would be her who caused him to be knocked over, with that bushy head of hers she probably couldn't see past the mass amount of hair.

"Watch it Mudblood," he hissed out at her. She looked up at his words, and he could see the flash of pain through her eyes. But it was immediately covered up by a neutral expression, so quickly that Draco wasn't even sure if he had even seen the pain to begin with.

"Sorry," she muttered again. She was kneeling on the ground, spreading her body to reach the books that were lying on the floor with no organization.

"You should be," he said, sneering at her. But still, he couldn't help but feel half-heartedly with his efforts to degrade her. Something about talking to Myrtle made him feel hypocritical about insulting Granger. After all, to be fine talking to one mudblood, and then be here the next day and insulting another, left him feeling a bit wary, "After all, you are nothing more than a lowly mudblood. How dare you knock someone such as I down to the ground?" he said, in an attempt to sound normal.

But that didn't sit well with the brunette. "Would you just quit it Malfoy? I get it, I'm a mudblood, and I'm complete and utter scum. Whatever. It's not like it's anything new. So do you mind just going your own way for once, without saying anything else? The last thing I want right now is to have to listen to you, and your crap," she seethed, with her eyes going wild.

Woah, what got her wand all up in a twist? He watched as her hair seemed to get more untamed by the second as she gave him a glare. There was something very attractive about watching her, but he couldn't place his finger on it. It wasn't like it mattered anyway; she was after all a mudblood. But just saying that word seemed to hold less meaning than it usually did.

He picked up one of her books from the ground and went to hand it to him, but as he did, she snatched it up from his hands. She examined the book quickly, to make sure that all was in order, before giving him another look of puzzlement.

"Cool it Granger. Like I care what you think or feel," he said, drawling more than usual. He felt a bit offended by her manner toward him, but then, what had he expected?

She gave him a glare before pushing past him, and storming off.

"Granger, wait," he found himself calling out before he could stop himself.

She turned around, with a puzzled look upon his face. "What do you want now Malfoy?" she asked, sounding a bit wary. And she had every reason to be. He had not once in the past given her any reason to believe that he was compassionate. So why would she believe that he could be? 'Because you aren't,' a cold voice in the back of his mind dictated. 'You are nothing but a cold-hearted monster, and could never care about anyone else.'

He felt a bit irritated at the sound of the voice in his mind. Yes, he could care less about her and the rest of the Gryffindor posse, but that didn't mean that he wasn't compassionate. After all, he had only joined up with Voldemort in the first place to protect his mother from death. Was that not compassion? So how dare that voice in the back of his head undermine his feelings?

"A-Are you alright?" he asked, once again shocking himself. Seriously, why did just ask that. First he was going off and talking to Myrtle, and now here he was asking the friend of the boy he hated more than anything, how she was.

"Why do you care?" she asked him sceptically. She held a book tightly to her chest as if to create an invisible barrier between her and him.

"I don't know," he said. He felt internally torn at the moment. He could see that there were the ghost of tears haunting her face. But at the same time, this was the Mudblood Granger. Why should he care if there was something wrong with her? She was no better than trash in his eyes. It was why he had joined up with Voldemort wasn't it, to help stop the spread of such trash? So what did it mean for him, to be so torn up about merely talking to her? 'She's a lowly mudblood," the voice hissed once more. 'Curse her, hex her," it demanded him.

"Shut up," he told the voice in the back of his head. The last thing he wanted right now was to listen to more crap from someone else.

"Well seeing that you have no idea what you're going on about, I might as well leave," she said, oblivious to the inner argument he was having with himself, and turned to go.

He watched as she left, practically running away from where he was standing. How was it possible that someone as annoying as her was able to leave him feeling more confused than he ever had been before?


	4. The Pain of a Kiss

**A/N:** So I just realised that I forgot to put a disclaimer in the first chapter of this story, so here goes: I am not J. K. Rowling. I do not intend any copyright infrignement, and I appoligise if my story defaces her work. This plot is entirely my own, however it does take certain events from HBP to follow a somwhat similar arc. Now on to the story.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Draco sighed as he made his way from the Qudditch changeroom. He had seriously considered dropping from the team that year. With all the stress from his mission, he wasn't sure that he would be able to keep up with the large amount of practices, fixing the cabinet, and on top of that, making sure that he didn't fall behind in any of his classes.

But he couldn't do that. Quidditch was his relief method. Whenever he had a lot on his mind, then he would go for a flight. At a couple hundred feet off the ground, he found that he was able to think clearly. So he knew that there was no way that he could drop the sport.

Though it didn't help how frustrated he felt every time that he played the Gryffindor. Because of Harry Bloody Potter, the Slytherins rarely won a single match. It irritated him, knowing that he was second best to the boy in anything. It was bad enough knowing that Mudblood Granger was the top of their year, but knowing that the Boy Who Refused to Die was a damn good seeker, was torture.

He wanted to hex something; anything to take out his frustrations. But he wasn't in the mood to put his house any further back in the House Cup running than they already were. So he settled for sending a tripping jinx at a first year Ravenclaw girl, causing her to fall and slightly tear her robes.

And as good as that made him feel, he had to admit that he felt slightly guilty about it.

Damn it, what was happening to him. First the other day he felt bad about calling Granger a mudblood, and now he felt guilty about tripping a girl. He was seriously losing his knack of making others feel pain. Next thing he knew, he would become some sort of muggle supporting filth.

'But would that really be so bad?' a voice inside him asked. It was a gentle voice, and Draco knew this one. It was the voice that he always pushed out of his mind in fear of what it would turn him into.

'Off course it would,' he scoffed, before tuning it out.

If there was one thing Draco wasn't, it was a muggle sympathizer.

* * *

Hermione shook her head as she watch the crowd in the Gryffindor Common House, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not help but keep the smile off of her face. She watched as Ron was lifted into the air, and felt a warm feeling spread throughout her upper body. The boy clearly loved being the centre of attention, something she knew he was deprived of due to the size of his family. She was so proud of his win in the game, especially once Harry had just confirmed that he did not use the Luck Potion a few moments back. Harry stood beside her with a wide smile on his face. While he may have been the captain of the team, he was more than happy to defer any attention to his friend.

Getting the attention from the crowd to fuel his courage, Ron started reciting the story of how he won. She could not help but think of how sweet he looked at that very moment. It had shocked her, the first time she started having feelings toward the boy. After all, they had never been the best of friends. But somewhere after fourth year, when she and Ron got closer due to her fear of Harry being in constant danger, she began to develop feelings for him. It was subtle at first; she had been with Viktor at the time, and began to feel immensly horrible over the fact that she could think about another man. Luckily for her, she and Viktor had drifted apart due to the distance between them once he returned back to his school.

But over time, the feelings started to grow, and the more it did, the more she and Ron began to argue. She knew that she shouldn't waste her time arguing with the boy, but trying to get him to see her as something more than a friend. After all, it had taken him until fourth year to realise that she was a girl. And even then, he hadn't seen her as anything more than a backup plan.

Though she had to admit, there was just something about him that made her want to argue with him, all the time. He pushed her buttons, as the muggles say, and he made her want to chuck him out of a window at times. But she was attracted to him, and she wanted him. So she would keep trying, not matter how hard it got.

Harry seemed to be smiling even wider now, if possible. She looked in his direction, and saw Lavendar Brown, her flirtatious roommate, making her way toward the boy Hermione had spent the last ten minutes staring at. She pulled his arm down from the crowd, and wrapped her arms around him. She pressed her lips against his, and the crowd got wilder. He looked taken aback at first, but he wrapped his arms around the blonde's body and began to kiss her back.

Hermione felt as if her world was crashing down around her. Her chest began to tighten, and she felt the tears began to form in her eyes. She had to get out of there, before anyone saw her reaction and knew just how she was taking the news. She turned, and made her way straight out of the common room. She couldn't stand to be in the presence of anyone at the moment, but the situtation was clouding her judgement. She walked straight to her empty classroom, knowing that no one would be there at that moment of the night, due to the celebrations underway.

She held her head down, so that people passing by her in the halls wouldn't see her tear stained face. She made her way down a flight of stairs and threw open the doors to the classroom. It was her own personal place, somewhere that most of the students barely knew existed. She had taken to coming here back in third year. When Ron and Harry were fighting with her, and she needed to escape, she found this place. It was peaceful and allowed her a place to think without those around her watching and judging her every move. It was somewhere she could afford to be alone and afford to cry without worrying about who could see her.

"Avis," she whispered. She had found the spell after feeling lonely in her private area. So she had taken into conjouring up birds from thin air. They provided her with a sense of company, but nothing that would judge her, or say anything.

She felt so stupid. How could she fall for Ron, when there was no way that he would ever like her back? He was Ron Weasley, the boy who only cared how pretty a girl was, rather than whether she had a personality. She hated to admit it, but Ron could be a pig in more than one way. And if there was one thing Lavender Brown was, it was pretty. She was easily one of the most gorgeous girls in their House, so it was no wonder that Ron was happily kissing her back. Compared to plain Hermione, with her messy hair, and simple face, Lavender might as well have been some sort of goddess.

"Hermione?" she heard a voice call out from behind her. She stiffened, as she heard the voice behind her. But upon seeing who the intruder was, she recognised it to be none other than Harry. She relaxed slightly as he took a seat beside her.

He sat there quietly. Wrapping his arm around her back, he pulled her close to him. She craddled her head in his chest and allowed the tears to fall more freely. He gave her silence, knowing it was what she wanted. He waited until she was ready to talk, and when she was, she began.

"How do you do it Harry?" she asked her friend softly.

"Do what?" The boy asked her, confused about what she could be referring to.

"I see the way you look at Ginny, Harry. You like her, and it kills you to see her with someone else. So how do you deal with it?" she asked, as she wiped the tears from her face.

He sighed knowingly, thinking about the obvious pain he felt on the matter. "It's really hard," he said, swallowing hard. "But I tell myself that if it's what's meant to happen, then it will. There's no point in rushing what should happen, and what shouldn't. If Ginny and I are meant to end up together, then we will. And that gives me hope."

"But what if it doesn't work out Harry?" she asked fearfully. "What if I'm left forever having feelings for him and he never feels the same way about me?"

"Then he's a fool," Harry growled. "Hermione, Ron would be lucky to have a girl like you, any one would."

Hermione was about to reply, and tell Harry her thanks for his support. She was about to reply to him and tell him that she was grateful for his friendship. But at that precise moment, the people she was trying to avoid stumbled into the room.

She watched as Ron and Lavender Brown rushed down, to _her_ private place.

Seeing the position she and Harry were in, Lavender began giggling sheepishly, "I see that this place is already taken. Lets go Ron," she said, grabbing his arm.

"One sec," he said, smiling at her. As the blonde made her way away from the area, Hermione noticed an angry flash go through Ron's eyes as he watched the pair of them together.

"What's with the birds?" he asked, oblivious to Hermione's mood.

Looking back on the moment, Hermione knew that what she did next was in no way the brightest thing. But right then, she was far too angry to care about anything else. And seeing how Ron was there now, and with his eyes assessing the situation he though was occurring, and making his own assumptions. Hermione was too angry to be rational, so she stood up and did the first thing she could think of.

"Oppugno," she said simply, and the birds began to fly straight toward Ron. He ducked as they splattered upon the wall of the classroom, leaving a mess.

"You're bloody mad!" he screeched. "No wonder no one wants to be with you."

She felt a fresh set of tears sit in her eyes, but she blinked them away. There was no way that she would allow him to stand there and treat her like that.

"At least I'm not desperate enough to kiss whoever comes my way first!" she said in an undertone filled with resentment.

He rolled his eyes, "You're just angry that I kissed her," he rationalized. But before he could say another word, his _beloved _called out to him.

"Ronny-kins, are you coming?" Lavender asked him.

He glared at her one last time, and made his way from the room. Hermione collapsed in a pit of despair. The threatening tears had begun to fall, with no sign of stopping anytime soon. Harry, watching the entire situation, was seething.

"The bloody git!" he screamed murderously. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and brought her into a tight hug. She rested her head against his chest once more and began to cry freely one more.

Even though Ron was one of his best friends, Harry had long since taken his side simply because of it. He had learned the hard way that Ron is far too emotional, and isn't always right, despite what he thinks.

"I'm sorry Hermione," he whispered into his hair. "He completely deserved the birds, and more."

Hermione nodded, not trusting herself to say anything beyond that. They sat in silence once more, avoiding conversation.

* * *

Draco watched as the Weasel pulled a girl into his arms. The two clearly thought no one could see them, and judging from what they were doing, he wished he didn't see them either.

But he felt slightly confused at the same time. Wasn't Weasel with Mudblood? Or was she with Pothead? Either way, he didn't care. He kept walking, wanting to go to his abandoned classroom. He had first found it early on in fourth year. It was abandoned, probably forgotten as well.

It was a hard year for him; while he never had the greatest family life, that year, his father had gotten more abusive. He kept saying how Draco wasn't prepared enough, and how he was a disappointment. His father kept saying that he needed to be whipped into shape before _his _return; whipped being the key word. He knew know that his father was referring to the Dark Lord, and he made it his goal to try and change Draco's complete attitude.

So he had needed to get away. At Hogwarts, Umbridge had taken a liking to him. He knew that he would have to do what she wanted to keep his family respectable; especially now that the Dark Lord had returned and wanted for no one to know of his existence. His housemates loved the new professor. She held and obvious favouritism toward the house and treated them like they were the best. And for that reason, he knew that he couldn't talk to any of them.

So he began going to his classroom. He had stumbled on it one day, completely by accident, and had taken a liking to it. So he continued going there, one year later, even when the Toad was gone.

He opened the door, as quietly as he could. The last thing he wanted was to alert Filch. As he walked door, he sensed something was off. Someone was in the room; in _his _room. He cast a disillusion charm on himself; not wanting anyone to see him there. More importantly, he wanted to know who was in the room he called his haven.

He saw Potter, and in his arms he was cuddling none other than the Mudblood. He felt rage flow through him. Draco told himself that he was angry that they were here, that they were in his room. But a part of him didn't buy the story that he was telling himself.

He watched as Harry nudged Hermione slightly.

"Hermione, I'm going to go back to the tower now. Are you coming with me?" he asked her softly.

She shook her head, "I'm going to stay here a little longer," she said.

Draco watched as Potter got up to leave. "Hermione?" he asked, trying to get his attention. When he saw that he had it, he continued, "Ron's an idiot okay. Don't let him get to you."

Draco watched carefully as he saw the girls tear struck face. So she was crying about Weasel, most likely over the fact that he was with Brown. Interesting.

Potter left the room, and Granger continued to stare at the wall in front of her.

"I know you're in here," she said softly.

Draco was stunned. His disillusion charm was near perfect. There was no way that she could know that someone was in the room.

"I may not know who you are, but you don't need to hide," she said once more.

He was tempted to leave. Why bother revealing himself to her? But something inside him decided against it.

He lifted the charm and walked over to her. "What are you doing in my classroom Granger?" he asked, attempting to sound snide. She looked so vulnerable, so fragile. She looked like she needed protection.

"What do you mean your classroom? I've been coming here since third year!" she said, arguing.

"Damn it," he swore. She had been coming there longer than he had.

She smirked at him, but it was only half-heartedly.

He sat down beside her, and she looked up at him surprised. "What are you doing here anyway Granger?" he asked her gently.

"I needed to get away," she said vaguely.

"From Weasley?" he prodded.

She looked at him, and he saw the suspicions flashing through her eyes. "Why do you care?"

"I don't," he said indifferently.

"Oh."

"So?"

"Yes," she said, sounding far away from where they were.

He could tell she wanted to change the subject.

"So what is it?" she asked him suddenly.

"What is what?" he asked confused.

"The task Voldemort has given you," she said simply.

"What makes you think that I'd tell someone like you?" he asked her.

"Because you look like you need to talk to someone about it," she said delicately.

"Well you thought wrong," he said icily.

She got up to leave. "Alright then."

"Where are you going?" he asked her curiously. It seemed unlike a Gryffindor not to push a subject.

"I can see you want to be alone," she said politely. She gave him a slight smile and walked out the door.

He watched, confused as the girl left him in the room. How was it that every time he came into contact with her, that he was left questioning everything that he had known and been taught? Every time they talked, he felt puzzled; everything around her was puzzling. Weren't muggles and mudbloods supposed to be beneath them? Weren't they supposed to be only worth the scum under her feet? So why was everything about her challenging that?

He resumed her previous activity of staring at the wall, as he attempted to make sense of her and everything that she was.


	5. Alliances Among Enemies

**Chapter 5**

'Damn the world,' Draco thought to himself as he flung a vase across the room. The porcelain antique shattered into about a million pieces of different shapes and sizes. The crash of the object itself would have attracted attention, if Draco had not asked the Room of Requirement specifically to make sure the room was soundproof.

He was beyond frustrated today. It had all started that breakfast, when he had received a letter from his father. He was shocked at first, at the thought that his father was even allowed to send mail. But he supposed with all the Azkaban breakouts, that the security had become more relaxed. He had come straight to the room, and opened the letter. It was a Saturday, so few would notice his absence.

_Draco,_

_I am doing well in Azkaban, and will soon be rejoined with you. Your mother had informed me of the task that the Dark Lord has given you, and what you are required to do. Draco, this is your chance to prove your loyalty to the Lord. This is your chance to show him how great of a wizard you truly are._

_I am sure you know how angry the Lord was that I had failed him in receiving the prophecy. I was careless and proud. I allowed that wretched half-blood Potter to best me by stalling until the Order showed up. But Draco, this is our chance for redemption. If you succeed, then you will forever be in his favour. If you succeed then our family can have our prestige and honour restored in his eyes. There is so much riding upon your success, so Draco, do whatever must be done in order to complete your mission._

_Do not disappoint me son,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

Did his father seriously not think that Draco knew how much relied on this? He couldn't give two shits about the fact that it would restore their honour. But what he did care about was his poor sweet mother; the same mother that would lose her life if he failed to complete his task. While the Dark Lord never stated that he would kill his mother if Draco failed, but he explicitly implied that he shall.

Draco was getting desperate. The cabinet still could not transfer living things back and forth. While the bird would now come back with a pulse, it was a very faint one. The last thing Draco wanted was for a bunch of half dead Death Eaters in the school. That would only cause them more bad than good.

He walked over to the table and picked up a bottle of mead that he had gotten Rosemerta to deliver to him at the school. It had taken a while to get here, due to Filch's tight security, but it finally had. He knew the plan was a weak one, but he needed to show some sign of progress. He was getting impatient with Draco, and the last thing he wanted was the fury to be released upon him. Draco had seen the things that happened to people who failed the Dark Lord, and Draco did not want to ever be on the wrong side of that wand.

He unscrewed the bottle and poured a vile of poison that he had stolen from his former Godfather's cabinet, and poured it into the bottle. He magically sealed the bottle and left the room. He wanted to hand the bottle straight to Dumbledore as a Christmas present, but he knew that it would be far too suspicious. So he looked for a teacher. He needed one who was close to the Headmaster, but not strong enough to overthrow his magic.

As he exited the classroom, he walked toward the potions room. He was careful to cover the bottle with his cloak. Draco knew exactly which teacher it was that he would be targeting. It wasn't really a hard choice to be honest. While it was arguable that the Gryffindor head was one of the closest teachers, Draco new that Slughorn would be the better and easier choice. Now to confound him into doing his biding.

* * *

It was done. Draco had given the drink to the teacher shortly before, and now he was now sitting in the common room of his house. He had always loved the darkness of the room, which was fairly natural due to the fact that it was under the great lake. He was sitting on a leather couch, opposite to Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott, who were fellow housemates in his year. The three of them were alone in the room, and they had cast a spell around them so they couldn't be overheard, just in case. Unlike Crabbe and Goyle, Blaise and Theo were far more intellectual companions, and were easier to talk to.

"Draco," Blaise said in an irritated voice. Draco looked up and saw the closest people he had to true family, staring at him intently. "I've been calling your name for a couple of minutes now."

"Sorry," Draco muttered.

"Are you thinking about the task again?" Theo asked him, with a worried look upon his face. While they knew he had a task, the two of them only knew the basics. Unlike the rest of his house, the two of them didn't want him to fail his task to higher themselves in His ranks. They would help him as much as they could with the minimal amount of knowledge they knew, and for that Draco was grateful.

He nodded and the two of them knew something was up.

"Draco, are you sure you want to do this? There is plenty of time after school ends for us to prove ourselves to him," Theo asked him. While Theo's father was insistent that he join the ranks, Theo was insistent that he waited. He used the argument that a Death Eater with half an education would be worthless in His ranks, and had gotten his father to accept it for the time being.

Blaise, however, was neutral on the entire war. The Zabini's believed in pureblood dominance as much as the next pureblood family, but were insistent that they do not join. The Dark Lord had seemed to accept it for the time being. As long as they weren't against him, then he would allow them to live.

Draco shook his head. It was always the same argument between his friends, "You don't get it. If he doesn't kill me, then my father will."

His two friends didn't say anything. They knew what Draco was saying was no exaggeration as someone who didn't know him might think. His father had often punished Draco for his many failures, and to Lucius Malfoy, death would simply be a step up from his usual treatment.

"I need to step out," Draco told the two of them. As he stood up, he watched the two of them exchange a silent look.

"Draco, let us help you," Blaise tried. "You don't even need to tell us of your mission. Just tell us what we need to do. You know by know that you can trust us by now. Let us help you Draco."

He wanted nothing more than to let them. He trusted them, he really did. But he didn't want them to get mixed up into the twisted plan that the Dark Lord held for them. He wanted to keep his friends safe from the horrors that were in store for him.

"I can't. No listen to me. I can't let you guys get involved in this and get hurt. The less people who are involved the better. I don't want you guys to have to go through this to," Draco told them.

"Draco, that's nice and all, but remember what we said last year? We said that regardless of what happened to us, forced or not, we would stick by each other. We promised we would help each other through whatever it was that needed to be done. Draco, we don't care about the consequences. The only way He could find out if someone was helping you, is through you. And you are already skilled at both Legemens and Occlumency. So you don't need to worry about that," Theo argued back. He ran his hands through his black hair in frustration, as the Italian boy beside him frowned in response.

Draco sighed. It couldn't hurt to tell them what he needed to do, could it? "I need to fix the vanishing cabinet. The one Montague got trapped in last year by those Weasleys," Draco told them.

The two of them said nothing. They remembered what their classmate had gone through the year before, as he told anyone who would listen about his discovery. They also knew what it meant for the school, should the cabinet be repaired.

"Shit," Theo said softly.

"Oh hell," Blaise said in response.

Neither of the two looked at him judgingly, or pityingly. They looked at him with understanding and compassion. It was times like this that Draco was grateful to have the two of them in his life.

"We'll look into it Draco. We'll go to the library and see if we can find anything on the cabinets. If it's in a book somewhere, then it will be there," Blaise assured him.

"Can I assume that it's still in the Room of Requirements?" Theo asked curiously.

"Yes, it's still there."

The two of them nodded as they got up and gathered their stuff. Draco got up as well, and decided to make his way back to the room.

"Thank you," he said quietly. He very rarely said those words, and the two of them nodded, understanding what it meant to him.

He knew that most of the people in the school were either away for the holidays, or at Slughorn's party, so it would be easy for him to slip there undetected. He walked quickly, with his footsteps making as little noise as possible. He heard noises and music coming from a couple hallways over, and Draco knew that it was where the party was being held.

He got caught up in listening to the music so much that Draco didn't even notice as he sent a suit of armour crashing to the ground. He winced as he heard the loud noise that he made, which were quickly followed by a set of footsteps rapidly approaching him.

Draco ran away from the steps, toward the party. He would have made it too, if he hadn't tripped over a stupid cat.

"I know you're here!" Filch screeched, as he rapidly approached. Once the caretaker saw the boy on the floor, he smiled wickedly.

"Ah Mrs. Norris, you've managed to catch the little brat," he squealed joyously. Looking at Draco, he continued. "Boy, what are you doing out of bed?" he asked, as he picked him off the ground and held him by the collar.

"Get your hands off me you filthy Squib!" Draco demanded.

"Why are you out of bed?" He demanded again.

Draco rolled his eyes, "If you must know, then I'm on my way to Professor Slughorn's party," Draco said, lying through his teeth.

Filch narrowed his eyes. For a second, Draco thought he would let him go. But he was wrong.

Filch dragged Draco all the way to the party, by the ear. He argued and insulted the man the entire way there, but it didn't seem to have any effect on the stupid Squib. No wonder he couldn't preform any magic.

As they arrived at the party, all eyes were upon them. Draco saw Granger standing beside Potter. While she wasn't as dressed up as she was at the Yule Ball, she still looked fairly good, for a mudblood anyway. Rumour was that she was here with McLaggen. Personally, Draco knew that it was just to get the Weasel jealous. It was verified by how disgusted she looked by him as he stood beside her.

"Professor, this one says he was invited to this party," Filch said gleefully, knowing fully well that Draco had lied.

"Alright, I lied. I was trying to gatecrash the party," Draco said, lying once more. He knew he would looked down upon for it, but it was much better than telling them the real reason he was out of bed.

Slughorn looked like he was about to say something, but was stopped by his Godfather, who now stood in front of him.

"Severus, it's the holidays, do go easy on the boy. I don't see any reason why he can't stay," the professor said stupidly. Yeah right. Like Draco would want to stay at this ridiculous party any longer than he had to.

"He's in my house Horace. I'll punish him as I see fit," Snape said coldly, as he escorted Draco from the room.

Snape practically dragged them several corridors from the party before he said anything.

"How could you be so careless?" Snape demanded. "You're supposed to be careful Draco. The last thing you need is for anyone to find out what your mission is."

"Don't you think I know that?" Draco said irritated. "I know exactly what I need to do and what is expected of me. I know better not to fail."

"Potter suspects you Draco. I managed to get him off your case, but if he suspects you, then Merlin knows who else will."

Draco looked down frustrated. He knew exactly what was riding on this, and what would happen if someone other than Potter found out. He was lucky that neither Potter nor Granger had said anything to him about it. Hopefully, the two of them had decided to drop the subject.

"Let me help you Draco. I can help you get through this. Just let me."

His Godfather was a person who was far too close to the Dark Lord. While he would open up to him, the last thing he needed was for Snape to go report to Him that Draco wasn't capable of the task given to him.

"So you can take all the credit?" Draco sneered. "I don't think so."

"You don't understand! I made the Unbreakable Vow with your mother Draco. I promised to help you."

"Then I suppose it's your funeral now then isn't it?" Draco said coldly.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy. You listen to me boy. Do you have any idea what this task entails? Have you ever committed _it_ before? Do you know what it does to your soul? Could you handle something like that, at an age so young? Draco, let me help you!"

Draco shook his head. "It's my task. He gave it to me, and me alone. I'm the only one who can do this. I need to do this alone."

Snape shook his head. "Draco, if you need me, then you know where I am. I won't ask you again, but I am always available for you, just know that."

Draco nodded, and his Godfather stalked off, leaving Draco to his thoughts. Little did he know that two individuals had watched the entire conversation.

* * *

"Snape's a traitor," Harry fumed angrily. "He's supposed to be on our side and he's betraying us Hermione!"

Hermione shook her head, "You don't know that. Maybe he's just trying to win his trust so he'll tell us just what he knows."

Harry was frustrated. "Hermione, you saw what was happening, how can you be so sure that Snape is on our side? He could be betraying us, and you wouldn't even know it!" Harry practically shouted.

Hermione stayed calm. "I know what I head Harry. We can argue about Snape's loyalty, or we can worry about the bigger matter. The fact remains that Draco has received some sort of task from Voldemort, and unless we manage to convince him to change sides, he will go through with it. And you heard what Snape was saying. It sounds like Voldemort wants Draco to commit murder. Harry we need to stop him. He's too young and pure to do something like that!" Hermione said frantically.

Harry was a bit startled by the intensity in Hermione's voice. She was a compassionate persona by nature, so Harry justified it through those means. After all, it wasn't as if Hermione actually had feelings for him. That would just be ridiculous now wouldn't it?

"Don't worry 'Mione. We won't let anything happen to anyone. We just need to convince him of that," he said, reassuring the girl who was like his little sister.

"I hope not. I don't want anything to happen to him," she said softly.

"Hermione did something happen between the two of you?" he asked her curiously.

She didn't say anything, but simply looked down. "Not in that sense. We talked, a couple times."

Harry was shocked by this. "About what?" He asked hurriedly. He was worried that she would get hurt by the boy he knew to be pure evil.

"The first time it was nothing of importance. He just said to get you to get you to leave him alone," she said, looking out a window now.

"And the next time?" Harry asked her again.

"He just sat with me. It was after Ron and Lavender came into the room that day, and you stayed with me while I cried. After you left, he came in and sat down beside me. I got the feeling he wanted to be alone, so I left him. But the second time he didn't insult me in the slightest. He didn't call me a mudblood, or treat me like any less. I think he can change Harry, but he isn't sure of what to do."

"What do you mean Hermione?" he asked. He wanted to know what Draco was up to and why he was talking to Hermione.

"Harry, he has grown up as a pureblood and has acted upon the things his parents taught him for years upon years to come. It's what he knows, the only thing he knows. Maybe he's feeling conflicted."

"Maybe Hermione. And if that's the case, then maybe we can convince him to join our side," Harry said, feeling hopeful for the first time in ages.

She smiled at him, "I do hope so Harry."

He wrapped his arm protectively over her shoulder, "Come on 'Mione. I'm sure McLaggen is curious of where you have gone." She shuddered and flashed him a smile as the two of them headed back toward the party.

* * *

**A/N:** I would like to take this moment to thank all the people who have read this story, and favourited/followed/reviewed. It means a lot that you guys read this, and inspires me to keep writing and updating.


	6. Questioning What He Knows

**Chapter 6**

"Damn it," Draco growled. The plan for Slughorn to give the bottle of Malt to Dumbledore, had failed miserably. How was he to know that the old bat would be selfish enough to want to keep the bottle to himself, especially after Draco had confounded him? He was supposed to know he would use the bottle on Weasley and send him to the hospital?

"Well at least there might be one less Weasel in the world," Blasie offered, sensing his friend's foul mood.

"Potter saved him. We're still burdened with the task of having too many of them," Theo grumbled.

As much as he appreciated the attempt his friends were making, Draco knew it wasn't going to work. He still felt completely awful over the fact that his efforts were going to waste. It didn't help him either that the letters from his mother were getting more and more frantic. The Dark Lord was getting impatient with the state of Draco's work. And unless he did something soon, something that showed some sort of promise, he was destined for a premature death.

"I just don't get why it didn't work," Draco said annoyed. He had planned it out carefully. Find Slughorn, curse him into giving the drink to Dumbledore. Watch Dumbledore drink the poison, and then he dies. It really wasn't all that complicated.

'I think you now exactly why it did not work,' a voice whispered from within his mind. 'You know the reason why the plan failed, but you are simply too afraid to acknowledge the possibility of such a thing.'

'Shut it," he snapped. The last thing he needed was his so called conscious playing a part in his actions. Lately the voice had become more and more prominent in his mind. For every action that he took part in, the voice had something to say about it. Draco knew that it was the 'goodness' in him trying to surface, but the only thing it would do was put him in danger. And for that reason, he needed it to be as quiet as possible.

'It is because you don't want to kill him. You are reluctant, not because you care about your soul, but because you are not capable of murder. You are too weak to handle such a task Draco. Just give up now, before it is too late for you.'

"Draco?" Theo asked him, snapping him out of the inner war with himself. He looked up to see both of his friends staring at him for some sort of response. Damn, he missed the question again. He had to stop zoning out in the middle of conversations, or his friends would guess something was up. And friends or not, the last thing he needed was to have his loyalty questioned. Because if it was, then one way or another He would find out. And once Voldemort did, he would have him killed without the slightest amount of hesitation.

"What?" he asked back, feeling a little confused as to the self-doubt.

"I asked what your next course of action was going to be." Theo asked him, sounding a bit irritated.

"I think I might just go for a walk. Clear my head you know?" Draco said softly. "I'll see you both at dinner."

He noticed the two of them exchange a look but didn't say anything about it. He just needed to get away from it all, and that included avoiding his friends. He knew he was wrong to push them away. They had been nothing but helpful over the last few weeks. Ever since they found out about what he needed to do, they would both accompany him to the restricted section of the library to look up any books on the Vanishing Cabinet. So far the three of them have had no luck, but it was really only a matter of time before the stumbled upon exactly what they needed to finish the task.

It had been a while since he had felt hopeless. As a child, whenever he did something wrong, his father would scold him, and punish him. At first he would cry, but his father had told him it was a sign of weakness, and for that he would be punished. And because of that, he learned how to seal away the pain. He learned how seal away the pain, to the point where he rarely cried. It was simply an emotion that Draco learned to turn off. So why was it that now he felt so weak, and so vulnerable? He felt so useless, like he was going to fail anyway. So why did he even bother trying?

He left the common room, pushing past a few first years. They grumbled at him, but once they saw who he was, they immediately pulled back. They were frightened of him, and of his identity. They all knew what he was capable of, and what he could do to them if he wanted to.

When he was younger, he loved having that sort of power over people. One mention of the Malfoy name could get Draco almost anything in the world if he desired it. But since then, something had changed. He began to despise it, and everything it stood for. He hated the fact that people would bend over backwards to please him, if it meant saving themselves. He felt like a monster for making people do such things.

He headed towards his classroom. Even though Granger knew where it was, she wasn't likely to come there today. With Weasley in the hospital, she would be likely to be fawning over the ginger until forced to leave.

He felt a spark of irritation ignite inside of him. The peasant already had a girlfriend, so why did she still have feelings for him? It made no sense to him. Yes, the girl was a mudblood, but she could have any half-blood or mudblood she wanted. There were plenty out there who were far more worthy of her than him, so why was she so insistent on possessing feelings for him?

He didn't know why he cared, but it bothered him. Lately he seemed to notice her far more than normal, and it was not at all how it was supposed to be.

Draco slammed the door loudly as he sat on the ground of the class. He huddled his knees close to his chest, and for the first time since he was a little boy, he began to sob.

* * *

Hermione sat on a chair by the hospital bed. As soon as word got to her that Ron was hurt, she had made her way immediately here.

She held his hand gently in both of her own. Hermione stroked his hand softly, and she listened to Harry recite the details of the event to Dumbledore and McGonagall. She was so happy that Harry had thought of shoving a bezoar down Ron's throat to remove the poison from his system. If he hadn't thought of that, then Ron could be dead. The very thought made Hermione want to break down in sobs.

She took a hand to his hair, and stroked it gently. She had always loved the way the red flowed down his head, shaping his face perfectly. She loved his freckles and how they scattered his face perfectly. But most of all, she was certain that she loved him.

As the professors left to go discuss who may have done such a thing, Harry came and sat down beside her. He placed an arm protectively around her, and brought her into his chest.

"You know who did this don't you?" Harry asked her quietly.

She shook her head. "No, Harry it wasn't him."

"Hermione, you know Malfoy is clearly planning something. And you heard Slughorn, he was supposed to give the bottle to Dumbledore. It was meant to kill him! What if that's what Draco is planning?" Harry said, talking heavily in an undertone. He would have screamed it out, but the last thing he wanted was for everyone to know what they were talking about.

"Harry, I know he is planning something, but this? Isn't that a bit extreme for Voldemort, to want a child to kill the greatest wizard to ever walk the face of the earth? Even Voldemort cannot be that stupid to think a 16 year old can handle such a heavy task," Hermione said calmly.

"I know what it sounds like Hermione. I know just how ridiculous it sounds, for Malfoy to have to kill someone. I mean, I know we all suspected him of being responsible for opening the Chamber of Secrets, but I don't think that he can do this. He doesn't seem like the kind of person who can commit a murder," Harry said hurriedly.

"I don't know Harry. It just seems so hard to believe that someone at this school, especially a student, could be capable of murder," Hermione said hesitantly.

Harry looked like he wanted to say something about it, but he was interrupted by a loud irking shriek. Hermione didn't even need to turn around to see who it was who was behind her. Unfortunately for her, she was proven right.

"What are _you_ doing here?" The voice shrieked again.

"Hello Lavender," she said politely. Harry gave her a nod of acknowledgement, but she did not seem to notice him.

"Don't you act that way with me, Granger. Why are you here?" Lavender screamed.

"Well, as you can see, I'm clearly visiting Ron. He is in the hospital, and I thought it would be nice to come by," she said coolly.

"Why did you find out before me? I'm his girlfriend. I'm the one in love with him. So why am I the last to find out about him? I should be the one sitting there beside him, not you," she said, glaring at the Hermione.

"I'm sorry if no one thought to notify you Lavender. But I do care about him, so I will be here for him. And if you don't like that, then you can leave," Hermione snapped.

"I'm his girlfriend!" Lavender screamed.

"Well I'm his, uh, friend," Hermione said, hesitating. It was only at that moment that she realised that the professors had made their way back over to where they were.

"Don't you give me that. You haven't talked to him in weeks. And now that he's suddenly in the hospital and all special again, you want him!"

Hermione found the urge to laugh at her stupidity, but swallowed instead.

"He's in the hospital you silly girl. He almost died! And the only thing you care about is snogging him? You are definitely very daft."

The adults looked like they wanted to say something to put the cat fight to an end. But at that moment, Ron began to mutter something. It was quiet at first, and neither of them could hear what he was saying.

"Mmmhm," he mumbled.

"Out of my way everyone. He's clearly calling for me, can't you all tell?" Lavender translated the language coming from the boy.

"Her-mi-one," he mumbled softly.

She felt her heart racing, as she heard the words come from his mouth. They sounded like magic, like harmonies that the angels were singing.

She heard a theatrical sob come from the girl beside her.

"I should have known you would steal him from me, you trollop!" Lavender cried. "You adulteress!"

Hermione was astounded by the accusations coming from the mouth of the blonde beside her.

"I did no such thing! If you can't keep your boyfriend, then it is in no way my fault. And if there is one thing I've never done, is sneak around with a boy seeing someone else," Hermione said with dignity.

But her words did not console Lavender, or convince her of her innocence. In fact, the only thing it did was send the girl into a state of more frantic tears.

Lavender burst out the door, crying loudly, as the occupants of the room watched her go.

"Oh my," Dumbledore said. "Love is such a fickle, complicated thing."

Hermione looked back at Ron, taking his hand softly in her own, but he had fallen back into the state of oblivion that he previously was in.

* * *

"Draco, how long to you plan to stay in here and mope?" A voice called from the door.

Draco had been sitting there for a couple of hours, unsure of what he should do with his life or how he should proceed.

He looked up to see his Godfather standing in the doorway.

"Severus," he said, acknowledging the man, without looking up from where he was sitting.

Severus walked into the classroom, and sat beside him.

"How did you find me in here?" Draco asked. The only other person who knew he used this room was Granger. And he knew what she was occupied with.

"I have my ways," he said, vaguely.

Draco was still curious to know, but decided against asking.

"How long are you planning on sitting here like a child Draco?" Severus asked him gently.

"A while," he said, as vague as his professor was earlier.

"What's wrong Draco? I know something is the matter and I can help you. And believe it or not, it isn't so I can steal the credit of your task. I have enough fame with the Lord, and trust me when I saw I do not need anything more," he said softly.

"I'm afraid. I do not know how I can complete the task without losing who I am. What if I fail Severus? What if I can't do this, and he kills me, then my mother? I don't know how much longer I can do this Severus, before I fail."

"Draco, you are strong. If any boy is able to complete this task, then it's you!" Severus said, his voice full of pride.

Draco felt worse, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to complete the task. But the sheer guilt of knowing he would be letting down everyone around him by his weakness was almost unbearable.

"You know you don't need to do this Draco. You can say that the feat is too large, or pretend that you were discovered and thrown out of school," Severus said, his voice full of compassion.

"You know him better than I do. Will he accept if I say I can't do it? Will he understand if I say that it's too much of a task for a 16 year old to complete? Of course he wouldn't. Instead, he will have me killed, just as he'll have my entire family killed. You said it yourself that he did not simply choose me randomly, but merely because he wanted to punish my father. How will he react when I tell him that I can't do this?"

Snape hesitated with his answer. "He won't like it. And maybe he will accept your failure with grace. But he probably won't like it either. He will be disappointed. And depending how angry he is with your father, then your life may be spared Draco."

"And if it isn't? What if he tries to kill me? Just because Potter survived the killing curse doesn't mean that I will be able to. What if I do die? Then what will happen."

"What if you joined the Order?" Snape asked suddenly.

Draco burst into laughter, "That's a good one. I really needed the laugh. Thanks Severus."

"I'm serious Draco. I can't say I would like it. You would be renouncing everything you stand for to simply gain protection. You would lose your name, your family, how you were brought up, just to join a bunch of blood traitors. But you would be alive, Draco. It's a hard choice, but it's one you're going to need to make."

Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You would want me to betray everything I've worked so hard to gain? You would want me to give everything up for safety?" Draco asked, confused.

"I'm just giving you something to think about," Snape said cautiously. "If you do though, your secret would be safe with me."

'As safe as anything could be with a Slytherin,' Draco thought to himself.

"I'll have to think about it," he said to his Godfather.

Severus nodded at him, and swiftly left the room, and left him to his thoughts.

'Maybe he's right though. Maybe he should join the Order. But think of the consequences,' he thought to himself. He would be leaving everybody he loved behind, for a cause that he wasn't completely sure that he even supported himself. After all, were mudbloods not beneath him? He was of the purest of the pure lineages in the entire world. He was Draco Malfoy, and he was powerful. So would he change everything he believed in simply in exchange for his life?

But Granger was on that side. She was fighting on the front lines, up by Potter and Weasley. He was irritated with both of them, for allowing someone like her, who would be the first target of the Death Eaters, to fight alongside with them. Was Granger enough to convince him to change sides? Would he give up everything he knew for a mudblood? What was so damn special about her that allowed him to question everything he knew, and believed?

She wasn't very pretty, nor did she stand out among the crowd. The only noticeable thing about him was her sheer brilliance. As much as he hated to admit it, she was in fact smarter than he was. He hated her for that, but it was the truth.

So now, he needed to make a choice on what he wanted to do with his life. And whatever the choice that he made was, then it had the power to influence his entire life, and how it proceeded. He just wished it would be a simpler choice.


	7. A Change of Heart

**Chapter 7**

She was back. As Draco walked into the Great Hall that morning, the first thing he saw was Bell, and she was talking to Potter. If she remembered a single detail about her attack or the fact that it was Rosemerta who gave her the necklace in the first place, then everything was ruined. If Rosemerta's cover was blown, then it was only a matter of time before it was traced back to him. Once the Imperius spell he placed upon her had been broken, then she would reveal the truth about what had happened. If he got expelled now, then everything he had been trying to accomplish over the last few months would go to waste. He would go home and have to face the Dark Lord, who would certainly have his head.

He turned to leave. He had to get ready to leave the school. He needed to go prepare his things, so he could leave in the night. He knew that Snape would be able to help him get out of the school unnoticed, and for that he was glad. He caught Blaise and Theo's eyes and he gave them a look as Draco walked out the door at a rapid pace, hoping to leave before anyone had seen him. The two of them knew what would happen, and they immediately stood up from where they were sitting. Theo and Blaise headed off towards the Room of Requirement, to try and hide any evidence of what Draco had been doing in there.

They had discussed this. If anything of this magnitude had come to pass, then there were precautions that would need to come to pass. While it wasn't set in stone that he needed to leave yet, it was always better to be prepared. That would allow for him to be able to leave whenever the need would arise, should it be today, tomorrow, or even months from now. But they would be ready, no matter what. While there were already certain measures taken up, Draco knew it never hurt to take extra precautions. If there was one thing he had learned from his father, it was to always cover up one's tracks. That way, nothing can be traced back to you.

Draco loosened his tie nervously. It felt like it was strangling him, and taking all the breath from his lungs. Damn the tie. He quickened his pace, heading to the prefects' bathroom. He needed a sanctuary where he could be alone, and it was the first place he could think of. He needed to talk to someone, anyone. But he could not let anyone know of the self-doubt that he was currently facing. But that didn't mean that he couldn't talk to someone who weren't alive. He needed to find Myrtle.

In the months leading up to today, he had been to see her several times. And true to her word, she had not once leaked a bit of information. While she still had no idea what it was that he had to do, she knew many other things about him. She knew of the years of abuse he had received at home in hopes to mold him into the perfect heir. She knew of the strain on is family now that his father was temporarily out of the picture. While she didn't know the things he had done or had to do, she knew more intimate details of his life. She knew more about him than his own mother, and Morgana knew his mother was a nosy woman.

* * *

Hermione turned to see who Harry had turned to glare at. His conversation had been clipped short from talking to Katie. When she turned, she saw Malfoy standing in the door. He turned to flee from the room, and Hermione could guess why. It was fair to say that he did indeed have something to do with Katie's attack, and was worried about being found out.

She grabbed Harry's arm to stop him from following.

"Let me go Hermione," Harry said, struggling to get out of her grip. "You know it just as well as I do. Malfoy did this and I want to find out why. Let me go after him Hermione!"

"No," she said calmly. When she saw that he wanted to argue with her, she continued. "Harry, you'll let your anger get in the way. It won't end well if you go after him, and then we'll never get any information. Let me go and talk to him. Maybe I will have a better effect."

"Hermione, you know what he thinks of you. And you have seen for yourself what he's capable of doing. Do you think it is the safest thing for you to go after him?" he asked her softly.

"Harry, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. And I know the risks involved with going after him. I know how dangerous it could be. But let me go talk to him. If we're right about Myrtle conversing with him-"

Harry cut her off. "All we know is she has been talking to some boy, Hermione.

A couple of weeks back, the trio had run into Moaning Myrtle. As usual, she was moping on about her death, but something about what she said left Hermione feeling confused. She had told them how the 'boy' would talk to her and tell her of the horrid things that he had to deal with in his life. At first Hermione had thought that the boy was some first year, affected by the war raging outside the castle. It was fairly common for first year muggleborns to be affected. But the more Myrtle talked about the boy, the more she thought she was talking about Draco Malfoy.

Harry didn't buy it of course, and neither did Ron. The two of them didn't seem to think that he was capable of feeling remorse, or even fear. In their eyes, he was a lousy ferret. And she did not blame either of them. Malfoy had never been pleasant to them at school, and she hadn't expected that to change anytime soon. It was only logical that they would be sceptical. When Hermione had asked Myrtle about her suspicious, the usually gossiping ghost shut her mouth and floated off. How was it that the ghost who loved to create as much drama as possible, was perfectly fine just leaving in the middle of the conversation? Something was off about it.

Harry and Ron just dismissed her theories, but something about listening to Myrtle speak about it made her suspicious. But she did have to admit that something about it felt off. In all the years that she had known him, he had never been one to show any sort of weakness. And what were the chances that one of the biggest Voldemort sympathisers at the school would be talking to a mudblood ghost, who was personally taken care of, by none other than Voldemort himself? It did seem highly unlikely. In spite of all of this, her gut instinct was telling her that it was him who she was talking about.

And because of that feeling, she started questioning everything she knew. What if it was him? Maybe he didn't want to go through all of this. Maybe he was being forced. She hated to admit it, but ever since that night where he had sat with her in their classroom, without once mocking her, she had begun to think of him in a different light. He was just another boy, who grew up in more unfortunate of circumstances than herself. And maybe he could be saved. She owed it to him to at least try. And because of that, she would do everything she could to save him.

"Hermione, I don't like this," Harry said wearily. "I know you're capable of many things. And Merlin forbid I ever be forced to be on the other end of your wand pointed at me. But I don't trust him. I don't want you alone with him." Hermione was about to interrupt him, but he raised his hand. "However, I do trust you to get out of there if you feel endangered. Hermione, if I don't see you in twenty minutes, then I'm coming in. And by Godric, if he touches a single hair on your head, then I will kill him."

"I'll be safe Harry. I promise. And I'll let him know he has you to answer to, should anything come to pass.

She gave him a smile, and looked over at Ron. He had been fairly quiet over the entire ordeal, and wanted to see what he had to say. He was staring off into space, and when Hermione followed his glance, she saw him staring at Lavender Brown. How typical. She found herself gain a twinge of jealously at the sight. The two were still going out, even after the entire hospital event. Ron had apologised profoundly and Lavender didn't put up too much of a fight. It annoyed her slightly. Just when she thought she was closer to getting to be with Ron, he went and turned the tables once more.

Rolling her eyes, she turned to follow Draco. She hoped the boy hadn't gotten too far, or it would be nearly impossible to find him. She hurried out the door and saw the blonde hair disappear around the corner. It wasn't long before she realised where he was heading.

* * *

"Draco, I see you've returned," Myrtle said, attempting to sound bored, when in fact her voice was filled with anything but.

On any other day, he would have smirked. But he didn't quite feel up to it. He was tired and he needed to talk to her, without any humour.

"Myrtle, I might need to leave," Draco said quietly.

She spoke back quickly, "You mean the bathroom?" she asked, sounding a bit worried.

"The school Myrtle. And I don't know when I can return back, if ever," he said softly.

"Why? What has happened?" she demanded. "What could cause you to have to leave this school, and leave everyone behind?"

From her voice he could tell that she could not care about the other people he would have to leave, but her. It pained him to tell her, not because of any romantic feelings, but due to the fact that he genuinely enjoyed talking to her. She had listened to endless rambles about him, and he had returned the favour as well. He hated feeling so vulnerable, like his entire life hung on the line, and if Katie Bell remembered anything, then it would tip over the balance. He had found solace in Moaning Myrtle, as strange as that may be, but it was at the point where he needed her.

"I've done something, and because of it, I could be endangering everyone I care for. I need to leave before it gets to that point," he said sadly.

"Don't," she said softly, her voice whimpering in angst. "Draco, don't leave. You're the first friend I've had in so long. How could I get by without you?"

"I don't know what else to do Myrtle. I don't have any other choices! The only thing I can do is leave and hope that he will have mercy on my soul," he said, shaking. He spoke so quickly and rashly that Draco forgot that she didn't know about Voldemort. If she noticed, she didn't say anything. He hoped that she would just write it off, to think that it was something that his father would threaten him with.

"There is something you can do," a voice called out softly from behind him. However it was not from the person he expected.

He spun around rapidly, to see Granger standing in the doorway. How did she get in? He was certain that he had locked the door, but perhaps it wasn't as carefully as he had initially thought it to be. He drew out his wand protectively, but she did not do the same. Upon further inspection, he saw that she was unarmed. He lowered his arm slightly, but still kept it at a reasonable height, just in case.

"I'm not here to fight you Malfoy," Granger said softly. "I'm not here to pose a threat to you. I simply want to offer you my help." She nodded at Myrtle to acknowledge the ghost.

Sensing the two of them wanted to discuss this privately, Myrtle floated through the floor. Draco was grateful to her. The last thing he needed was to ruin another good thing in his life. Once she found out, then she would leave him, like the rest of them.

"And why would I want that?" he sneered. "Just like I told Potter, I don't need you, nor do I need him."

"I know you're lying Draco. You hate being a part of it don't you? You have some sort of task from Voldemort, and you don't want to do it. But he's threatening someone isn't he? He usually does. And because of that, you have to go through with this. But there's more to it Draco; you don't have to do whatever it is that he wants you to do. You can get out."

He snarled at her, "What do you know Mudblood?" When he saw that his words didn't affect her, he kept going, "Don't pretend you know me or anything about me. You have no idea what I'm going through, nor do you care. You simply want to get one up on him. And if that means thawing my plan, then you will. But let me tell you this Granger. I will succeed. Not because failure isn't an option, but because I am strong enough to go through with this. And nothing you do or say can change that," he said, glaring at the witch.

Draco tried to storm past her, but she stood blocking the door way. "Let me leave Granger," he commanded.

"No. Not until you at least give what I have to say a decent chance," she said stubbornly, holding her ground and his gaze.

"Granger, get out of the way!" he shouted.

"No Malfoy. Now you listen to me. I don't want you to go through with this. Not because I want to 'get one up on him', but because I don't think that it's you. Now before you go and stop me, listen well. You are capable of many things Draco, and whatever this is, I'm sure you can. But you haven't yet, not because I don't think you can do, but because I know you don't want to. It's been months since the school year has started. I think you're procrastinating because you don't want to do it. You are not a bad person Draco. You could do so much good in the world; you have so much to offer. So why do you want to throw it all away? I'm not going to beg you Draco. If you turn me away today, then I will tell Harry to drop it as well. The two of us will give up on you and move on. And once Harry defeats Voldemort, and make no mistake he will defeat him, Harry will take down anyone else who stands in his way. And if that includes you, then it's your funeral. But think of all you could do to help. Think of the changes you could bring. I hate giving up on people, and maybe I trust far too easily. But I see goodness in your eyes Draco. I know you can be a good person, if you want to be. So now it's up to you to choose your allegiance."

He looked at her, his mouth slightly ajar from stunned silence. After regaining his composer and taking in all he had to say, he spoke, "And what makes you think that I am capable of anything good. I've never done anything that comes close to constituting kindness. Why would you care so much what happens to me, after all I've done to you over the years? I find it hard to believe that you have no ulterior motives involved Granger, and to be frank, it makes me sceptical. How do I know that you're not waiting for some sort of confession from me, and then you send me off to Azkaban? And why would you think that I don't want to do this? Maybe I enjoy this sort of thing. Maybe it's my secret guilty pleasure."

She gave him a smile, "Maybe you do Draco. Maybe you do. But I don't think that's you. I think you are a much better person than you give yourself credit for. And I think that if you gave yourself a chance, you would see it as well. As for the prior question, I give you my word. If you choose to join our cause, then you will be offered full immunity. We will give your mother safety as well as your father, should they choose to accept it."

"Why?" he asked simply.

"Why what?" she asked him confused.

"Why are you willing to do this for me? After everything I have done to you over the years; after all the name calling and hexing, why are you so certain that I am a good person? What if I'm simply as lousy as you perceived me to be originally?"

She was silent for a while, and Draco wasn't entirely certain that she would respond to the question that he posed for her. But finally she did.

"Because of that night when I was crying. You came in and sat beside me, even when I knew you wanted to be alone to your thoughts. But you didn't try and insult me to make me leave, or mock me once you knew the source of my pain. Instead you sat there in silence and allowed me to have my space. Draco, you are not a bad person. And if you let us, then we can help you."

His mouth hardened slightly, and he knew the words he uttered next would forever change his life. "Okay, I'll join your cause. I want full immunity for my mother. But I am not certain that my father will want to change his alliances. He is very set on his path and in his beliefs."

She gave him a bright smile, "I'm glad that you've changed your mind Draco. Now, Harry is going to get worried, so if you don't mind, could we go see him and Professor Dumbledore? I would like to inform him about your change of heart."

He nodded silently, feeling shocked with his choice. Yes, he had been toying with the idea for a little while now but it was never anything concrete. As he followed behind her, at a slower pace so people would not suspect anything, he shook his head. He stared at the figure in front of him, knowing that she was responsible for this sudden change. Merlin help him, for Hermione Granger would probably be the death of him.


	8. Making New Friends

**Chapter 8**

Harry let out a sigh of relief when he saw Hermione walk through the door to Dumbledore's office. Thank Merlin's old baggy robes that nothing had happened to her.

From the moment that they had saved her from the troll all those years back, Hermione and the boys had developed a strong bond. By the end of the year, he had thought of her as his own sister.

He knew that she only wanted to help. And for that he greatly admired her. Malfoy was the brat who spent his entire school life tormenting her, and in the end, she still wanted to save him. She had a great deal of courage, and was a Gryffindor through and through. He was proud that she wanted to do this, to try and change him. But that didn't stop him from being skeptical. Harry trusted Hermione completely, but it was Malfoy whom he didn't trust, and if that ferret did anything to hurt his sister, then he would kill him with his own bare hands.

He had been pacing before her entry into the room. So much so that Dumbledore was beginning to give him a wary look, as if he were afraid that Harry would put a hole through the floor. So what if he did anyway? The wizard would be able to repair it would a simple spell, so what did it matter?

But the person who followed into the room was someone who Harry had not been expecting. He watched, as Draco Malfoy entered the room.

He let out a yelp, and Malfoy looked up at him startled. How had Hermione been able to convince him to come with him?

He had been highly skeptical when Hermione first went after the boy. After all, Harry had been yet to convince him of the task himself. But he had a slight amount of hope. Hermione had always been more cool headed then him. While Harry would always think with his wand, then ask questions later, Hermione would observe what was happening, then make a fair judgment and act accordingly.

So he shouldn't be surprised that Hermione had indeed been able to convince Malfoy to join them. But it couldn't have been easy. The boy had more than enough pride to last anyone a life time. He enjoyed terrorizing muggleborns, first years, and anyone he deemed to be miniscule. So how exactly had Hermione been able to convince him? Harry frowned slightly, thinking about what could happen.

"Ah Miss Granger, I was wondering when you would join us. And I see you've brought Mr. Malfoy here with you," Dumbledore said, nodding to the boy who was standing quietly, and looking highly awkward.

Hermione smiled at the headmaster, "Good afternoon Sir. I hope you don't mind, but I've asked Mr. Malfoy to join us.'

"That will not be a problem, I'm glad you could join us Mr. Malfoy."

Draco nodded stiffly, and Harry noted how unsure of himself he looked. He knew that the boy was out of his element, and for that he gave him credit. He just hoped that he was being truthful about wanting to join up with them.

* * *

"I'm sure you have some requests to make before you fully join our ranks, as I have of you," Dumbledore said, not unkindly.

Draco nodded once more. "I want protection for my mother. I am not fully sure of the loyalties of my father yet however."

Dumbledore gave him a nod of acknowledgement. "Very well Mr. Malfoy, I'm sure that can be arranged. I too have some requests as I said earlier. I'm sure you can understand why I must do so. I'm afraid that I can't allow for you to be fully integrated into the Order of Pheonix until we have gotten to know you a bit better. In the meantime, I think it would be best if you met up with a single person."

Draco understood. He knew that their trust wouldn't be something easy to gain. He would think far less of them if they did welcome him with open arms. They would be foolish to do such a thing, so he wasn't in the slightest bit offended by it. He had seen it coming, and knew to expect it.

"I understand Professor," Draco told the group.

He noticed how the moods differed around the room. While Potter was watching him wearily, the Headmaster was smiling at him compassionately. Draco had no idea what to make of it; it was odd for someone to look at him with that sort of parental look glimmering in their eyes. Granger however was looking very pleased with herself, probably for being able to convince him to come to this in the first place.

"Your sixth year will be over soon, and in that time I can keep you safe in the school. But when the time comes when the school ends, we will make other arrangements to keep you safe."

Draco gave a gesture of appreciation. "I do have one more thing to say. I wish to act as a spy in the meantime while the school year is still on. I want to pass information to help your side. While my father is still in prison, He has taken a liking to me, and trusts me; for now anyway. I can work that to our advantage."

Dumbledore looked surprised by his proclamation. "Mr Malfoy, I cannot ask you do do such a task. It could out you in a substantial amount of danger."

Draco shook his head, "No Headmaster, I can do this; Severus and Aunt Bellatrix themselves have personally trained me in Legemens and Occlumency.

"Mr Malfoy, I'm sure you're aware of the danger that this will place you in. However, you are of age, and if you wish to do so, then I will allow it. However, I do wish you to be careful. Perhaps it's best if you only contact one of us at the same time. I can ask one of the teachers I trust to pair two of you in a class together to allow for a reason for the two of you to need meet up."

Potter looked a bit startled by this. He probably feared that it would be him that would be stuck partnering up with him. Personally, Draco hoped it wouldn't be him or the Weasel. Thankfully he got lucky.

"It would make the most sense if it were you and Miss Granger. I do trust that you will make this work, regardless of your past together."

So the old man was telling him to play nice. Draco supposed that it was luckily for him that he had every intention of 'playing nice', even if it meant putting up with Granger and the two daft things she called friends.

"Professor, you can't be serious. Having _him _work with Hermione? How do we know we can trust him entirely anyway? What if he tries to do her in or something when they're alone?" Potter outburst.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and Draco knew she must have been expecting such a reaction.

"For the last time Harry, I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. And no offence but if Professor Dumbledore were to partner either you or Ron with Draco, then one of you would end of dead."

She had a good point. Draco was still a bit startled by all of this. He wasn't quite sure of what to make of the fact that Granger wasn't entirely repulsed by him. He wouldn't blame her if she was.

Granger simply nodded her head, as if it were no big deal for her to have to work with him.

"And what will happen to Malfoy after the school year," Hermione asked after a moment of silence.

"At the moment, I am not quite sure. But when the time comes for it, the necessary arrangements shall be made. I hope by then that it will be slightly easier in the world but I am aware that it is wistful thinking."

Draco nodded. There was no way the war would be over that quickly. It had never been that easy, not in the past, nor now. But Draco had gotten used to that over the years. He had learned how to deal with it.

Potter was watching from the corner of the room. He hadn't said a word since Draco had entered the room, but Draco was pretty sure what he would say.

"I'm sorry professor, but how do we know if we can trust him? He is a Death Eater after all. What if he's secretly passing information back to them?" Potter asked, sounding highly skeptical.

"Harry-" Granger started, in a warning tone.

"It's alright Granger, I can defend myself.

Potter, you don't know what I've gone through. I was born into my life as you were yours. I didn't choose to be born into a family that supported Death Eaters. My father chose this life for me, and it was something I was forced to live with. If it was up to me and it was just my life at stake, I wouldn't have joined his ranks. But it's more than that. It's the life of my mother, and maybe even my father. I don't like you still Potter, and I am sure that the feelings are mutual. But I am not the person that my father tried to raise me to be, nor do I believe in his views. It might take a while for me to be able to stop having to catch myself from making remarks, but that doesn't mean that I want to. Voldemort has his spies in your ranks, as you probably have some in his. So he doesn't need me to be one as well," Draco said startling himself with his confession to these people he barely knew.

Hermione gave him a surprisingly smile, one that he didn't think he deserved.

Potter gave him a weary look. It was less skeptical than the earlier look that he received, but there was still a look of mistrust.

"Thank you Mr Malfoy, I am glad that you have decided to join us. In the meantime however, you should return to your house; let your housemates know that you are still on their side, and that they can trust you. The last think you need right now is for them to be suspicious," Dumbledore said, concluding their meeting.

* * *

"No bloody way!" Ron shouted loudly. People all around them in the Great Hall looked their way.

"Shh Ron!" Hermione hissed. "You can't let anyone hear you!" Silently she cast muffliato, so those around her wouldn't hear. The days where she didn't approve of the spell were long gone. Yes, she didn't agree with this 'Half-blood Prince' bloke; anyone who named themselves based on their blood type was not anything Hermione found prideful. But there didn't seem to be anything wrong with the spell, so she used it.

"You can't be serious Hermione," Ron said in an angry voice. "Harry, tell me she isn't serious."

"Ron, as much as I dislike this idea, I think Hermione's right. I don't trust him either, but I don't know man, he seemed fairly genuine in what he said. I don't like him anymore than you do, but we need to at least try."

Ron grunted, hunching his shoulders slightly. "I don't like this, nor will I be nice to him."

"There's more Ron," Hermione said in a quiet tone.

"What?" Ron asked, in a suspicious manner.

"I need to work with him on a project, so we can be able to gain information from him. He's going to spy for us, and we are to be his contact."

"Seriously?" Ron screamed out, almost jumping from the table.

"Ron, sit down," Hermione demanded.

"I don't trust him with you, Hermione! How do you know that he won't hurt you, especially after everything he's said to you over the years? What if he hurts you?"

Hermione sighed, knowing she would be repeating herself. "Ron, I can handle myself, you know I can." But as much as she was annoyed, she felt slightly pleased that he cared about her.

"I know Hermione, but what if-" Ron started, before Harry cut him off.

"It's done mate. He's joined our side," Harry said, sounding like he was accepting defeat.

Hermione sighed at the boys. "Harry, it was your idea to begin with, why are you so depressed about this? You were the one who initially wanted him on our side."

"I know, I mean I really do. But it's really hard to set aside six years of bad blood between the two of us. I want to be able to be fine with it, I do. But it's hard," Harry said, sounding confused about what to do.

"You can't be serious Harry. It's bloody Malfoy we are talking about. There's no way that we can simply 'put aside' the bad blood. We hate him!" Ron said, shouting once more.

"Ron, calm down. I don't like this either. But we need help. We need people to help us on this mission, and if we don't need to worry about Malfoy and whatever it was that he had to do, then the more time we can spend focusing on finding the horcruxes."

"What was his mission anyway?" Ron asked them both curiously.

Harry and Hermione exchanged a look.

"Do you know?" Harry asked Hermione. "He never said a word to me about it."

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't."

Ron groaned. "Unbelievable. Neither of you bothered asking the guy what it was that he was supposed to do, yet we have to blindly trust him. What if this was his mission; to get into our ranks and send Him information."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron, we need to trust him. We're not going to tell him everything right away, and let him know our deepest secrets. We wait to know that we can actually trust him. Until then, we let him in on as minimal details as possible. He has agreed to these conditions. Besides, if there is a spy in our ranks, then it will be safer for everyone not to know about him."

Ron sighed in defeat, "Fine, we accept him. But if he does something in the slightest bit untrustworthy then I will kill him myself."

Harry grinned at his friend. "I'm sure you will Ron. And if he does, then don't worry; we can kill him together."

Hermione smiled. At least some things would never change.

* * *

Draco sat on the bed in his dorm room, across from both Blaise and Theo. Neither of them knew of his recent change of heart, and it would have to stay like that. While he cared about the both of them, there was no way he could let them know something like that. He trusted them both, but you never really knew if someone was listening in on your conversations.

"Draco, my father has been asking questions about you. The Dark Lord has started to question your loyalties. I bought you some time by saying that you have been working hard to get the cabinet to work, but there are many difficulties with it. Hopefully it can buy you some time," Theo said.

Draco nodded gratefully, "Thanks mate. I don't know what I would do without you; either of you."

The boys smiled at him. It was rare for Slytherins of their age to show so much compassion; but in these times with constant change, they had learned to throw aside stereotypes and say the things they needed to say. To many people they knew had lost people they cared about to leave the little things left unsaid. Theodore was the prime example of that, having lost him mother at an early age.

Draco was about to say something back, when a first year timidly knocked upon the door.

"D-Draco?" the boy said softly.

Draco looked up amused. It had been a while since he terrorized any of the younger kids, but the rumors still circled around about him.

"Yes?" he asked the boy, trying to sound as un-scary as possible.

"There's a girl outside asking for you. She says she needs to discuss some prefect duties with you."

Draco groaned. He hoped that he hadn't forgot his turn to patrol the corridors, Merlin knew that he forgot too many times in the past.

He headed out the doors to find none other than Granger there waiting for him.

Once she saw him, she dragged him off to a private corridor.

"This has nothing to do with Prefect duties, does it?" Draco drawled once revelation hit him.

"No, it doesn't," she said, in her velvety voice.

"Then, why did you drag me out here?" he asked her, half curious.

"Because I needed to ask you something."

"And what may that be?" Draco asked her, sounding cautious.

"What mission did Voldemort give you?" Hermione asked him in an undertone. He was shocked by the way she so blatantly said his name, without any trace of fear.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Draco asked her carefully.

"Yes," she said firmly.

He pulled her into the classroom. He closed the door, but before he could open his mouth, Hermione stopped him.

"If you care so much about no one hearing you, then wait for a second," Hermione said. "Muffliato," she murmured.

"What does that do?" he asked her curiously.

"It's a silencing charm. That way no one can hear us. Seriously, you Slytherins never use it?" Hermione asked him, sounding shocked.

"Never heard of it; but thanks for the spell," he said, genuinely impressed.

"So what is the mission?" Hermione asked him, after a moment of silence.

"He wants me to kill Dumbledore," Draco said softly. It was one of the first times he'd said it aloud since he received the task.

"What?!" Hermione said, yelling. He was thankful that she had spelled the room so no one could hear. "You're 17 Draco. There's no way that he could possibly expect you to succeed Draco."

"I don't think he does," he said quietly. He once again surprised himself by how much he felt able to be truthful with her.

"What do you mean?" she asked him, sounding fearful.

"I think he wants me to fail; to send a message back to my parents."

"That's horrible Draco," she said softly. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. Before he could, she wrapped her arms around him and brought him into a tight hug. He was shocked at first, but hugged her back. It was odd how comforting it was to be in her arms.

"I don't want you to fail."


	9. The Potions Incident

**Chapter 9**

Hermione arrived into Potions the next morning, feeling oddly nervous. She supposed it was because today was the first official day that she was going to be paired with Malfoy in class. It was strange for her to feel like this, but she couldn't help but feel tingly inside.

She sat down next to Harry, and watched as Ron sat down beside Lavender Brown and slung his arm around her shoulders. She sank down slowly, feeling unhappy by the sight she saw. She didn't know why it bothered her so much still that Ron was with her, but it did, and she hated it.

She saw Harry watching her, but she refused to look in his direction. While she loved Harry to death, she didn't want him checking on her at the moment.

She looked up the exact moment that Malfoy had walked into the room. He had his hair perfectly groomed, as it usually was, and held his head up high. He didn't attempt to make eye contact with any of them, and Hermione knew that it was to protect the both of them. He walked over to a corner of the class and sat down beside Theodore Nott and Blasie Zabini.

Harry was watching Malfoy intently and gave him a glare. "Do you think that we can trust him?" Harry whispered quietly.

Hermione looked up at the boy beside her, confused. "It was your idea in first place Harry. Don't tell me that you're having second thoughts about all of this."

Harry shook his head, "It's not that. I mean I get where he's coming from. I would do anything to keep both you and Ron safe. But at the same time, all it took was one conversation with you, and all of a sudden, he's all aboard. I just can't shake the feeling that he was too willing to join up with us. Don't you feel anything of the sort?" Harry asked Hermione.

Hermione shook her head, "I think he's been unsure of his task from the moment he received it. But eventually time wore him away until he finally caved. Harry, do you seriously think that you would kill someone just because those you loved were on the line? Wouldn't you try and do anything that will prevent you from actually having to harm anyone? Because I know I would. I wouldn't be able to murder someone in the cold blood just because my family, or you or Ron were on the line. I would do every single thing in my power to prevent be from having to do that. And I think Malfoy finally couldn't find any other option, so he chose the best thing he could do for his family and for himself," Hermione whispered back. Luckily for them, those around the pair were engaged in conversations of their own.

Harry looked like he wanted to say something back, but Professor Slughorn walked in at that exact moment, so Harry simply nodded.

"Good Morning," Slughorn said cheerfully as he stood up at the front of the class. "Today we will be starting towards your NEWTS. I know, there's still over a year until you have to write them, but you need to start learning them now. The amount of potions that you will need to know for your NEWTS is a lot. I will be putting you into groups based upon skill level in my class.

Hermione looked down at her hand. So this was how he was planning upon giving the two of them an excuse to work together.

Slughorn began to read his roster of who he was pairing together. "…Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy."

The class had been fairly quiet up to the point where the last pair was announced. After that, the class began murmuring. Their professor tried to quiet them down, but it didn't seem to work.

"Professor, you can't be serious; pairing me up with _her_," Draco said in disgust. Hermione knew that he couldn't be accepting of the pairing in public; for it would only give them away.

"Please Professor, let me work in a group of three with Harry and Ron. I can't work with him. Surely you understand," she pleaded, acting along.

"Like I would want to work with you, Mudblood," he hissed.

At that word, the class went mad. The Gryffindors immediately began to insult the Slytherins who began to retaliate.

Hermione knew that he had said the word to go along with their charade, but she could not deny that it still hurt when she heard that word. It had been years since he had first called her that, and since that time many more had given her that name. The word was slowly beginning to lose its meaning, but some of the pain that it initially held was still there.

"Mr Malfoy, such language will not be tolerated in my classroom. 25 points from Slytherin, and if I hear it again, you will get a more severe punishment."

Draco slumped down in his seat, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Harry rubbed her hand softly, trying to reassure her that it was going to be alright. As Ron made their way over to where she was standing to work with Harry, Hermione looked at Malfoy, who was making no attempt to move in her direction. Sighing, she stood up and made her way over to where he was sitting.

"Malfoy," she said, nodding her head at him. For the benefit of those around her, who were eagerly eavesdropping, she added. "I would rather that I didn't have to work with you, but seeing that I can't change anything, I will. I don't like you, and I won't pretend to, but for the sake of my grade, I will do what needs to be done. Now, don't get me wrong. If you do anything that seems to jeopardize my grades, I will go to Dumbledore and tell him about this, and I will get a new partner, one way or another."

Malfoy smirked at her, "Don't worry princess; I won't do anything to mess with your precious grades."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "Good. I'm glad we're on the same page."

"The potion that we will be working on first is the Draught of Sententia. Who can tell me what this does?" He asked. When he saw that Hermione had her hand raised her clapped his hand, "Miss Granger," he said, allowing her to answer.

"The Draught of Sententia is a potion which allows the drinker to have an emotional connection with the others who drank from the same cauldron," Hermione said knowingly.

Slughorn smiled, "Once again, well done Miss. Granger; 15 points for Gryffindor."

"Bookworm," Draco hissed loudly. The Slytherins in the room snickered, but Hermione ignored them. However, she couldn't help but notice a hint of a smile in the corner of his mouth.

Slughorn ignored Malfoy's statement and continued on with his lesson, "This is a highly advanced potion and I expect that it will take several attempts for most of you to get it correct. You may begin," Slughorn said, concluding his teaching part of the class.

Draco turned to the page in his Potions book which had the instructions for the potion. They worked quietly, both avoiding talking to each other. Hermione noticed that Harry and Ron were continuously giving glances in her direction, to make sure that she was alright. And it wasn't just them; it was all of the Gryffindors. Lavender, Parvati, Neville, Dean, and Seamus; they were all constantly looking her way to make sure that she was alright. She felt slightly annoyed. She wasn't that vulnerable that she couldn't protect herself against him, should he choose to attack her.

"Granger, you're stirring the cauldron the wrong way," Malfoy said, bringing her out of her thoughts.

She looked down, and saw her hand movements, then glanced at the book. "What are you talking about Malfoy; I'm stirring the correct way."

Draco smirked, "I know. I just wanted to rile you up," he said haughtily.

She jabbed him with her wand, and he pushed it away; rubbing the spot which she had poked. "Watch it Granger," He hissed at her.

She turned back to the potion, and resumed mixing.

As Draco reached over the cauldron to look at the book, his hand brushed hers. Whispering he said, "I'm sorry for this," before knocking the entire contents of the cauldron on the ground.

Hermione shrieked at stepped back hastily. "Malfoy, what have you done?" she yelled out.

"Me? This is your fault Granger! If you hadn't been so careless, then this wouldn't have happened," he yelled back.

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss. Granger, stop yelling at once! The two of you will stay after class to redo the potion. The rest of you are dismissed for the day."

Hermione waited for the rest of them to leave, before she turned to him. "What was that about Malfoy?"

"He's getting impatient," Malfoy murmured before pulling out a letter from his bag.

Hermione took the letter from him and wordlessly opened it.

_Dearest Draco,_

_I'm sure it has come to your attention that He has decided to move his base to our Manor. It was your Aunt Bellatrix's idea, telling us that it would be a great honour to have him under roof. After everything our family has gone through lately, falling from our place at the top of society. But I cannot pretend to be keen on the idea Draco. You know that I've never been completely on agreeable with your father's views. While I understand them and believe in the use of His task. But having him in our home is a different story. _

_Draco, now that He's here, he constantly talks about his plans for you after the year is out. I am not entirely sure that he wants you to return next year. Bellatrix mentioned that he wants to groom you to be his heir to his legacy. But do not worry of that for now; I've manage to convince him that he would want a fully educated heir over one who dropped out before their final year at the school._

_He also is getting noticeably impatient with your progress. I have to_ld him constantly that you _are sending me letters of your progress, but Potter seems to be thawing your every move. For now, he is redirecting his anger at your status towards the boy, and will be content with that. But Draco, as much as I don't want this life for you, I need you to be safe. And if the only way for that to happen is to go through with this, then I beg of you to do so. But if you can find another way, do try so._

_With the deepest of love,_

_Mother_

She looked up with him after rereading the final line. "Is she telling you to do what I think she is?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow.

Draco shook his head. "I don't think that it's even crossed her mind that I should seek help from the order. I think she means for me to disappear entirely," he said, as he took the letter back from her.

"And she is fine with that?" Hermione asked. She failed to understand how Narcissa would want her only child to be on the run for the rest of his life.

"Well to her, it's better than having to kill someone. I don't think it's a good idea for me to go on the run either, but at least it means that she isn't willing for me to go through with this," Draco said softly.

Hermione gave him a gentle smile and squeezed his arm softly. "Hey, look at me," she said. Once he looked up at her, she continued, "I know you're worried about your mom Draco, but she will be fine. If anything, this letter proves that she is willing to do anything to keep you safe. And Draco, we will keep her safe," Hermione finished.

He gave her a smile; one of the first ones she had ever received from him. It made her heart race in a way that it never had before, and it confused her. It was probably just her being happy that he was starting to trust her. She shook it off, knowing that it was nothing and meant absolutely nothing.

"Thanks Granger. You're really good at this you know; at making people feel better," he said softly.

Hermione looked down, blushing at the compliment.

He took her face and tilted it upwards. "I mean it Hermione," he said, saying her name for the first time. "And I need to apologise to you. Not just for today, but for every time I've called you a mudblood. You can't choose who your parents are, so it is unfair of us to belittle you because of it. And to tell you the truth I don't really believe in it anymore, in any of it. I don't believe in the prejudices of our world, nor do I believe that we are really better than them. After all, from all we've learned in Muggle Studies, they are really innovative; to come up with their science to explain the world," he said.

She looked up in surprise. "You took Muggle Studies?" She asked in surprise. She had never thought that Draco, muggle despising, Malfoy, would have taken a class such at that.

"'Understand thy enemy,'" Draco said, quoting some source which Hermione couldn't place.

She nodded. Of course he had taken it for that reason. Most people ended up dropping the classes they didn't think they needed after their OWLs, so he had probably dropped the course. Hermione had to drop it as well; the stress of the time turners just weren't worth it.

"Thank you," she said quietly, accepting his apology. It was the first she had heard of his views changing. She knew he wanted out; but that simply could have been due to the fact that his life was on the line. But to know that his views had changed, changed something.

"So how angry was Weasley to know that we would be working together?" Draco asked, his smirk returning to his face.

"Furious. I though he was going to blow a fuse," she said, laughing.

"A fuse?" he asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. "What does elektrisity have to do with anything?"

"Electricity," she corrected. "And it's just a muggle saying, meaning that he looked like he would blow up."

He smirked, "And did you enjoy that?" he asked her teasingly.

"Why would I?" she asked, confused.

"Because he was acting protective of you, and was a bit jealous," he said, matter-of-factly.

She shrugged, "I hadn't noticed," she said, truthfully.

He gave her a look, "Just a while back, you were crying over him. And now you don't care that he's acting jealous?" he asked disbelievingly.

"It's not that I didn't notice. It's that I was busy feeling annoyed over the fact that he didn't thing I could handle myself against you if I needed to," she said.

"Ah yes, well we've already established that you just punch people who annoy you, haven't we," he teased.

She smacked his arm, "That was because you were being a prat," she protested, defending her actions of her third year.

"Still; my face has never been as gorgeous since," he said, feigning a sigh.

"Like that has ever stopped you from hitting on girls."

He moved closer to her, and she felt a chill run down her spine. "Oh really. So do you think my face is as gorgeous as it was back then?"

She pretended to think about it, while attempting to forget about the gap between them which was lessening by the moment. "Nope; it's gotten worse," she said dramatically.

Draco looked as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't. Instead, he took a step back and looked at the hourglass on the Professor's desk.

"Slughorn is going to be back at any moment. We should get the potion done before he returns," he said finally, as he began to get out the ingredients for the potion once more.

Hermione couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. She wasn't quite sure why it was that she felt that way, but she did. Taking a deep breath, she followed him back to the place where their cauldron sat. She began to add the correct ingredients, as he got them for her.

As their potion was complete, Draco drew a flask of it and labeled it with their names. He placed it on the shelf then faced her.

"Until next time," he said. And with that he turned around and swiftly left the room.

Feeling confused, Hermione cleaned up the remaining supplies, before heading back to the common room.

* * *

Ron and Harry stood up eagerly as they saw her enter the room. They followed her as she made her way to the boys' room. They closed the door and spelled the room, before turning to her.

"What happened Hermione? What did he want to talk about with you?" Harry asked as he sat on the bed beside her.

"He received a letter from his mother. She wants him to go on the run. Apparently Voldemort is staying at their house because of his Aunt. His mom wants him to do anything he can to try and get away from his task," she said quietly.

"And what's his task?" Ron prompted. Hermione hadn't told either one of them yet. She still wasn't sure how to react to it herself.

"He's supposed to kill Dumbledore," Hermione said softly.

The boys looked outraged by this.

"How can they expect him to succeed?" Harry asked.

"He doesn't," she said softly.

"Does Dumbledore know about this?" Ron asked after a moment's silence.

"I suppose he does."

"So what do we do now, that we know what he's supposed to do?" Harry asked.

"We wait; it's Voldemort's move now."


	10. The Breakout

**Chapter 10**

On Thursday morning, the school was a buzz on one specific topic. No one knew how it had happened, but at this point, people were expecting it. Azkaban had not been completely safe since the return of Voldemort, and it was only a matter of time before another break out occurred.

Draco trudged down the stairs, dreading the paper ahead of him. But that didn't stop him from picking up the paper once he reached his table. Sure enough, there I was on the front page

_**Massive Breakout of Azkaban Occurs AGAIN**_

_By Peter Dangey_

_Imagine the shock that one would feel after receiving the news this morning. Everywhere, mothers are bringing their children closer into their arms and fathers are strengthening the wards placed upon their houses. _

_The first breakout occurred two years ago, with the notorious Sirius Black (whom recently was proved innocent). Then once again, last year another break out occurred. This however, was one on a much larger scale. We were promised changes; we were to__ld _that security measures were in place to prevent this from happening once more. So one can only wonder why it is that it keeps occurring. How safe can one be when some of the most villainous criminals of all time, are once again roaming the streets?

_Ministry of Magic has one thing to say about this, "We are doing everything in our power to bring these monsters back into our clutches. I have given Aurors the right to do anything to achieve this; whether it be the use of Unforgivable Curses or any other method they deem to be appropriate."_

_A few have even been considering bringing back certain precautions which occurred in the first War. Practices such as demanding to know the blood status of employees that businessmen hire, have become a popular task._

"_It's not that I have any prejudices towards muggleborns. It's just that I need to know whether their presence may pose a threat to my store. I have a family to feed, and I can't have them starving because I lose my entire store. I'm sorry if this puts you out of jobs, but I need to care about them first," a store owner of Diagon Alley tells us._

_So there you have it; this is the world that we now live in. We can only hope that the Chosen One will be there to save us, but in the meantime, we can only hope that no more mysterious deaths or disappearance occur. And so I leave you, with wishes that you will remain safe, and out of harm. _

Draco felt sick as he placed down the paper. He felt a feeling of disgust sweep his body. In the past when he had read such articles, he merely smirked and mocked whatever mudblood happened to first cross his path. But for some reason, now he felt anger towards the world outside the school. He sighed, before looking through the rest of his mail.

His heart almost stopped as he looked at who the next letter was from. Opening up the letter, he found a recipe for Grandma Warbly's Treacle Tart. Knowing that the letter was from his father, and that he had probably spelled the actual contents of the letter to hide the contents, Draco murmured the spell to reverse the hiding charm placed on the letter.

_Draco,_

_By the time you get this letter, I am certain you would have seen the Daily Prophet. I am much aware of the progress of your task. Draco I must say, while I was sceptical at first, I do believe you can do this. The Lord has told me of the things you have done so far in an attempt to complete your mission. I must say, your attempts seem a bit weak, but He has confidence that you can do this, so I shall as well. Draco, do not fail._

_I have finally gotten back into the good graces of the Dark Lord. He feels that I have learned my lesson, and is bringing me back in his ranks with open arms. Imagine how much he will praise us both if you succeed and destroy he how thaws the impending doom of that boy who refuses to die._

_Your mother is starting to have her doubts. I know she would never say it straight out to me, but after being married to her for so long, I can read her. She doesn't want you to go through with this honour, and wants you to find a way out of it. Draco, you must show your mother that you are more than capable of doing this. She is a mother, and will try and do anything to shield her children from the world. But Draco, you are of age, and you can do this. Do not allow her to baby you._

_We are planning a massive raid in three days' time. We are going to attack Diagon Alley and burn down several of the shops which choose to still hire upon mudbloods, despite our many warnings to the Ministry of Magic. The reason I am telling you this is because I want you to join us. There is Hogsmeade Trip that day, and I want you to be a part of this. The more involved you become in His ranks, the better. _

_I must tell you. He has confided in me that he wishes you to be his second in command soon. Think of the honour that this will bring us! Draco you must do this, if not for us, then to secure your future. The Malfoy family has fallen heavily from its position at the top since my carelessness many months ago. I know how hard it has been on you. I expect to see you outside the Leaky Cauldron at 1 this Sunday._

_Lucius Malfoy_

Draco caught his breath. He had been shaking slightly from reading the contents from the letter. He knew he would need to talk to Granger about it. But he could not help but feel slightly awkward in her presence.

He had come so close to kissing her the other day. He had no idea what had gotten into him, but one moment he was teasing her, and the next, he found himself moving in to make a move. Thankfully he was able to catch himself just in time, and left before anything else had happened.

He knew he couldn't be a part of Voldemort's attack on Diagon Alley that week, nor could he ever be the second in command for Voldemort. It was absolutely ridiculous. He knew however, that it was something that some of his fellow Slytherins would kill to have an opportunity to have. He would have to be careful with how he proceeded.

Draco saw Hermione get up to leave. Tearing a piece of parchment, he scribbled down a quick message and stood up to follow up after her. Draco went out of his way to bump into her.

"Watch where you're walking Mudblood," he hissed so those around her would hear, as he shoved the paper into her hand. He saw her eyes widen but she clenched her fist to hid the paper. The action was able to be easily masked as her anger.

"Oh shove it Malfoy. Why don't you just leave? It's bad enough that I have to work with you in Potions; don't make me have to see you any more than I have to."

He sneered at her and left the Great Hall. He made his way to their classroom, where she would meet him as soon as possible.

* * *

Hermione had been confused at first when Draco had bumped into her. But after he shoved the paper into her hand, she could guess what it would say. He probably needed to talk to her about the contents of the Daily Prophet that morning. She, unlike the author of the paper, couldn't say that she had been shocked by the news. She had been waiting for something like this to happen. She knew Voldemort would not leave his followers in a place like Azkaban any longer than he had to.

As she left the Great Hall, she opened the note.

_Meet me in the classroom in ten minutes_

_Draco_

So she had been right. He did want to meet with her about something. She still had about an hour until class started, so thankfully she wouldn't have to worry about that.

As she made her way to her class, her mind raced with thoughts of what it could be that he wanted to talk to her about. As she arrived, she felt her heart race. She was nervous to be in the same room as him!

'Relax Hermione. There's nothing to be nervous about. He's just Malfoy and nothing more. There is absolutely nothing to worry about. Seriously, you're being absolutely ridiculous,' she scolded herself mentally.

She opened the door and stepped inside. He was already there waiting for her, and in his hand was a piece of paper.

"What did you need to see me about?" Hermione asked, attempting to keep her voice as steady as possible. If Malfoy noticed that she was nervous, he made no attempt to say so.

"There's going to be an attack on Diagon Alley in three days' time," Draco said, cutting straight to the chase. He looked her in the eyes, and Hermione saw that his face betrayed no emotion of what he was feeling about his revelation whatsoever.

"How do you know?" Hermione questioned. She believed him, but there had to be far more to the story than he was currently sharing with her.

"My father," he said, spitting out the name, "has wrote to me and told me of the attack since he feels that it would be a perfect opportunity for me to get acquainted into the ranks."

"Voldemort wants you there," she said, surmising the bigger picture of what he had just related to her.

"Unfortunately," he said, sighing.

"And are you going to go?" she asked, feeling unsure of what he would choose to do. She knew where his loyalties lay, but just how far would he go to protect the fact that he had become a turncoat?

"I don't know if I have a choice. I could make an excuse and say that I was planning on using the Hogsmeade weekend to work on the Vanishing Cabinet. But that could drive a wedge in the plan to get closer to Voldemort. If I go, I can secure myself in his ranks, but at the same time, I might have to hurt, or even kill people," Malfoy said, sounding torn.

"If you decide to go, I can tell Dumbledore that you are there and he will make sure nothing will happen to you. We will also make sure that we are ready for the attack, so hopefully we now have the upper hand, thanks to you."

Draco walked closer to where she was standing. "I have to do it," he said. "I have to be a part of it. My father's letter told me of how much relies on me getting into His good graces. And while to my father it is merely a means of restoring the honour recently lost with the Dark Lord, he is right in the sense that I need to do it. If I can get high enough in Voldemort's ranks, then I will be privy to most of the secret missions and tasks that he commissions for his Death Eaters. If I do, then that all the more information I will be able to pass back to you and the rest of the Order of Pheonix," Draco said softly.

"But the higher you get into his ranks, the deeper you get, there is a greater the chance of you getting caught," Hermione said, feeling instantly worried, much to her chagrin.

"Sometimes, to achieve a greater goal, one must not worry about the risks," Draco said, sounding vague.

"So basically you are saying that it doesn't matter if you live or die?" Hermione said, getting angry with him.

"I'm saying that this is what I need to do," he said, sounding amused. Stupid prick.

"Even if it kills you?" she pushed.

"Merlin Granger. In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a war. Your best friend is Harry Bleeding Potter. He has already made more sacrifices than one could even imagine. We all have to put ourselves in a bit of a risk to achieve the things we need to," he said to her amazement. She never would have dreamed to see the day where Draco was lecturing her of sacrifices.

"I still don't like this," she said worriedly. "No one on our side really knows that you're a turncoat. What if someone harms you in the process, or kills you?"

"And why would that bother you Granger?" He asked, closing a bit of the distance that was currently between the two of them.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt. I don't want anyone to get hurt in this war," she said, only adding in the last part after catching herself.

"And is that the only reason?" he asked, and she couldn't help but notice a slight amount of disappointment in his voice.

"Yes," she breathed. She knew she was lying through her teeth, but she didn't want him to get the wrong idea.

'And what exactly would that be?' a sly voice in her head asked her. Hermione chose to ignore this.

He smirked at her, "Alright then Granger," the expression on his face changed before he continued. "There's more. I don't think my father needs any protection. He is perfectly fine with what Voldemort has in store for me if I fail. In fact so much so that I think my father would kill me first if I did."

Hermione felt her heart drop, "I'm sorry Malfoy. I know that must be hard on you."

He merely shrugged. "I really didn't expect much else to be quite honest with you."

She lifted her arm and softly placed it on his arm. "If you ever need to talk about anything, then I'm here Draco. I know it is a bit weird to pour your soul out to a girl you hate, but I will listen to anything you need me to," she said in a caring voice.

He looked up at her, stunned. "Granger, you can't think I hate you still do you? After all of this, then I would be a hypocrite to hate you. Besides, I never really did hate you." When he saw her confused expression, he continued. "I hated what you stood for. You are so different than what I was brought up to believe a muggleborn should be. They are supposed to be weak, inferior beings who don't stand a chance. Yet here you are, top of our class. You are everything that I was taught to believe you shouldn't be. And that confused me. I hated you because it was something I was supposed to do, not because I believed it."

She looked up at his speech, "So what changed, if you don't mind me asking."

"I grew up, and was able to use my own brain to decide whether I believe something is right and wrong. And regardless of blood status, we all still have the same power, and the same abilities. We are all still human. And no one deserves to die for something that they cannot control." He said, looking deep into her eyes.

"Seems like you have matured a lot recently," she commented.

"Does that surprise you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not really. War changes people. Harry had to grow up at an early age because of what it did to his parents. Everywhere you look, someone is affected by what is happening outside these walls. Sometimes, it's so easy to pretend here that none of it exists. But then the Daily Prophet arrives, or someone receives a letter delivering them news that someone has been murdered. So no, it doesn't surprise me. Especially for you, with your father so heavily involved; you basically have front row seats to the monstrosity that Voldemort is. And the mere fact that you've been able to change shows that you are better than what you give yourself credit for," Hermione confessed to him.

And before Hermione knew what was happening, Draco had smiled at her. It wasn't in a romantic way, but merely a way of gratitude. Hermione had been stunned at first; Draco hugging her was not something she had ever envisioned happening. But sometimes everyone just needed a hug, especially when they felt vulnerable or even alone. So she did the only thing she could think of doing; she smiled back.

"Thanks Granger," he said softly.

"For what?" She asked, sounding a bit confused.

"For not judging me for the things I have done to you; for giving me the benefit of the doubt. I don't deserve the kindness you're giving me. Both you and Potter are so willing to allow me to change, even though I have nothing but go out of my way to mock you. If anyone, Potter should have just left me to go about my task and fail. But instead, he wanted to help me. So thank you for that," he said.

She blushed slightly. She was not used to receiving praise for such things. Sure teachers were always praising her for her intelligence, but kindness was not something she usually received praise for.

"Does this mean you're going to be nicer to Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked curiously.

"You ask so much of me Granger. But if I must," he said in a teasing tone."

"I'm glad," she said. She turned to leave the room, but before she did, she said one more thing, "Draco, I'm going to arrange a meeting with Dumbledore. I want you tell him the things that you have told me," she said.

He nodded, "I'm sure he would want to know."

But she wasn't quite finished with him yet, "Do you think you'll ever call me Hermione?"

That request seemed to startle him, "You'll always be Granger to me," he said teasingly.

She harrumphed in a joking manner, before leaving the classroom.

Draco stared after her, 'Well at least she doesn't hate me,' he thought.

'But that's not enough is it?' the voice in his head asked. 'You want more than that.'

Draco, feeling too tired to argue with the voice, just ignored it. He waited another thirty seconds, before leaving the classroom after her.

* * *

**A/N:** Can I just tell you guys how amazing you are? I love reading your reviews each week. It's really encouraging to keep writing once I get them. You guys rock!


	11. Joining In On The Mission

**Chapter 11**

Draco stepped out of his dorm to run straight into Pansy Parkinson. He hadn't been avoiding her per say; not as much as he was simply tip-toeing around the places that he knew she would be. It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to see her, as much as it was that he didn't want to lead her on. She was one of his oldest friends, and he would gladly keep it that way. She however, wanted for the two of them to be more than that. About two years ago, his father had planted the idea in her head that the two of them would be a good match. Their alliance would bring two of the oldest wizarding families together. Pansy seemed keen on this idea. The increase to her fortune would certainly allow for many, many more shopping trips. Draco however, wasn't the slightest bit interested.

The first mistake he had made was playing along at first. He wanted to please his father, and would do almost anything to achieve that. But this year, he no longer wanted to allow someone else to govern his life. He wanted to be in control of it, and nothing would change that.

She looked shocked to see him, but nonetheless pleased, "Draco," she crooned as she twirled her hair. "Where have you been hiding these last few months? I haven't seen you except at meals, or at classes. And as soon as you're done you leave before anyone can talk to you." She pouted at him, "You aren't avoiding me are you?" she asked as her eyes narrowed slightly.

He forced out a smile. "Of course I'm not Pansy. Whatever gave you that ridiculous notion? I have simply been busy," he said, giving her a pointed look.

She seemed to understand that he was referring to the mission that he had received. She was one of the few people who knew he had one; however she had no idea what it was that he was supposed to do. He wondered if she would still want him after she learned what he would have to do.

"That's okay sweetie," she said in a sickly sweet voice. "There's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend. How about if we went together? I promise we won't go to Madame Puddifoot's."

He shook his head, "As lovely as that sounds, He had given me a task this weekend to allow my initiation into his ranks," he finished, with his voice lowering at the last part.

She gasped softly. "My father told me about what's happening. You are actually going?" she asked in surprise. "Draco, are you sure that you want to go?" she asked, with a nervous quiver about her. He knew that she didn't like the idea of Draco joining up. But she was a woman in the pureblood society, and it stood that woman were meant to be seen, but not heard. She never publically voiced her opinions unless it supported what her father believed, in fear of being disgraced. But that didn't mean that she believed in Voldemort either.

"I don't think I have a choice, Pans. Besides, it's the right thing to do," he lied. He knew that she probably would support him if she knew that he switched sides, but it was not a risk that he was willing to take. So instead, he told her what his father would want.

"If you're sure," she said, sounding unconvinced. "I suppose I can always find someone else to go with for the weekend."

He smiled at her, "It was nice catching up with you Pansy. But I unfortunately have to go," he said, as she entered the Slytherin common room.

He had been on his way to meet up with Dumbledore about what was going to happen over the weekend. He hadn't been surprised when after Granger gave him the information of what was about to happen, that he would want to meet up with Draco and discuss it.

He knocked on the door to the Headmaster's office. This was the first time that he had ever been in the office. Usually once he was in trouble, he would go to his godfather's office where he would receive a scolding, and maybe loose a few house points at the most.

"You may enter," the elderly man's voice called out from inside the chamber.

Draco walked in, and looked around the room. On the walls were many portraits of the previous Headmasters of the school. The room was furnished in a way one would expect Dumbledore to live. The walls were filled with books. He probably had enough to make Madame Prince jealous. In the centre of the room there stood an intricately carved wooden desk. It was in no ways large in size; however, its position in the room allowed for it to stand out. Seated at the desk was none other than Dumbledore himself. Dumbledore gestured to the seat on the opposite side of the desk, and Draco walked over to sit in it.

Once he was seated, Dumbledore began, "I'm sure you are aware of why I have called you down Draco," he said kindly. Draco nodded and his headmaster continued, "Before we talk about Sunday, I wish to discuss something else with you."

Draco was a bit confused. He hadn't been expecting for the two of them to talk about something else.

"I want to talk about how you are finding your transition into our ranks," Dumbledore said. "I know it is probably difficult. You grew up with the pureblood mania your entire life, and even though you are doing the right thing, it must be hard to put on the façade each day to those around you to keep them and yourself from harm."

Draco nodded. "It is, I suppose. A few others know that I had become a Death Eater over the summer. It's hard to hide it from them, especially when they want to help me so I don't have to do everything alone. A lot of Slytherins have family in Voldemort's ranks, and support him to various degrees."

Dumbledore gave him a soft smile. "Well, if you need help with anything Draco, then I can make sure you get it."

Draco pondered upon telling him of what his task was. Granger already knew, so there was a good chance that so did Dumbledore. But Draco still wanted to tell him for himself. "Professor, I'm supposed to kill you," he spoke softly.

Dumbledore then did something that caught Draco off guard. "Draco, I know about your task," he said, speaking in a voice that held no fear. "And if you want me to, I can help you. I can find another solution so you don't have to become a murderer. Because Draco, you are not that person."

Draco did something that he didn't expect he would do, he agreed. "I would appreciate that, thanks," Draco said.

Dumbledore looked as if he wanted to respond, but there was a knock on his door that prevented him from doing so.

"Come in," Dumbledore said in such a way that made Draco feel as if he was expecting someone.

Potter walked in, but did not display a look of surprise to see Draco there.

"Hello Professor, Malfoy," he said, addressing the two of them. There was no difference in the level of kindness which he greeted either of them, much to Draco's shock. Harry sat down next to Draco without as much as a retort towards him. Well, that was a bit weird.

"Afternoon, Harry. Now that you are here, we can get down to business. Draco, I understand that you wish to join Voldemort on Sunday so you can get further up in his ranks," Dumbledore said.

"You want to what?" Harry said, his eyes popping. Granger must not have told him; interesting.

"My father has requested for my presence so the Voldemort will put our family back in his good graces. Personally, I think that it is a good chance for me to establish myself. That way, I will be able to gain his trust, even if it is a slow process," Draco said, for once talking to the boy beside him without the slightest bit of sarcasm or insult laced within the tone of his voice.

"But that's dangerous! Besides, what if someone on our side harms him because they don't know about him? Or what if someone on his side catches on? Either way Draco, you could be killed," Potter said, his voice full of compassion. Was it normal for Gryffindors to be so bloody caring all the time?

"I am planning on informing one of the Aurors on the mission. Actually, I was planning on telling your cousin Nymphadora, Draco," Dumbledore said.

"As in Aunt Andromeda's daughter?" Draco asked curiously. He had never known his cousin, due to the fact that his aunt had run off with a muggleborn and _disgracing_ the family. Personally, Draco applauded both her and his uncle Sirius. It must have taken a lot of gut to stand up to the 'mighty house of the Blacks'.

"Precisely. She will be able to ensure that you are kept safe," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Professor, I want to go as well," Harry said. He had been sitting quietly for a while.

"Harry, you are underage. I do not think that it is such a good idea for you to go. If Voldemort himself is there, then it could be risky for you. I do not want to have to worry about you as well," Dumbledore said calmly.

"Professor, it is only a matter of months before I am of age. I won't go doing anything stupid. I merely want to be able to actually do something for the Order," Harry said. The boy had matured over the year. A little while ago, Potter would have whined until he was able to get what he wanted. Now he was speaking calmly and logically.

Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his temples. "Harry, if I let you go, then you have to promise not to do anything rash. I don't want you to go after anyone on your own. If you die, then this is all over. Everything we have been working for would have been for waste. You need to be careful," Dumbledore said, giving in. The old man never could deny he boy anything.

Harry smiled, "Of course Professor. I wouldn't dream of doing anything unwise."

Dumbledore smiled, before standing up. "Now, if you boys don't mind, I need to work on some other arrangements for this Sunday."

Both the boys got up and left the office. On their way down the stairs, Draco turned to Harry.

"Okay Potter, what's your deal?" Draco asked the boy curiously.

"What do you mean Malfoy?" he asked.

"Why are you being decent to me?" Draco asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Because I have a feeling that you've changed. And everyone deserves a second chance. You grew up under unfortunate circumstances, but that doesn't mean that you should be judged for the crimes of your father. If you really want to join the Order and be a part of this mission to end Voldemort, once and for all, then I want you to be able to do this. But don't get me wrong Malfoy. If I find out that you as much as think of double crossing us, then I will kill you. But otherwise, I would like for us to be on agreeable terms."

Draco smiled at his announcement; it seemed that he had been doing a lot of that lately. "Well Potter, it seems that you have finally accepted my proposal of friendship; even if it is about six years later."

Harry smirked at him. "I can't help it if you were an idiot back then."

Draco glowered at him. "Excuse me? You were a total snob; what with your innocent 'I am much holier than thou' act."

"It wasn't an act Malfoy, it was the truth," Harry said, with a grin.

"Whatever Potter. We both know that it is nothing more than you being too afraid to accept a friendship with someone who is pure awesome," he taunted.

"And why would I be afraid to be friends with that? I'm friends with Hermione and Ron aren't I?"

"Oh please, Granger or Weasley couldn't be this cool if they tried," Harry said, rolling his eyes.

Before Draco had a chance to make a retort, another person entered their conversation.

"Did you seriously just say that?" A female voice called out. Draco turned around and saw Hermione walking towards them. Harry smiled as he greeted her with a hug. Draco felt a twinge of guilt rush through him, but forced a smile on his face.

"Granger," he said, in an acknowledging tone. "What brings you here?"

"I was actually looking for Harry. I want in," She said simply.

Harry had a puzzled look on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about Hermione. You're going to have to be a bit more specific than that."

"Oh don't play dumb with me. I know you Harry. You were probably talking about this Sunday with Dumbledore weren't you? And let me guess, you asked if you could be a part of this mission. Dumbledore obviously wouldn't have said no, and now I'm telling you that I want to go as well. There is no way I'm sitting this out. Besides, if he is willing to let an underage wizard join in, then he should have no problem with allowing me to go, seeing that I actually am of age," she said, with a 'don't mess with me' look in her eyes.

"No," Draco said, to both Harry and Hermione's surprise.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Hermione asked with her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"I mean it is too dangerous, and you shouldn't be there. Hell Potter shouldn't be there either, but it's little late for that, now isn't it?"

Hermione's face grew cold. "I don't remember asking for your permission Malfoy," she said, with her eyes a furious shade of brown.

"Granger, you shouldn't be there. Please, it will make it less complicated if there is one less person that I need to make sure doesn't get harmed. If anyone actually does die, I have no idea what I will do. I don't want to put anyone in danger while attempting to protect them."

She seemed to calm down at his words, but there was still a trace of anger about her. "I understand your concern Malfoy, I really do. But I refuse to sit back and watch while everyone I know goes off and face the danger first hand. There is no way I can remotely even come close to convincing myself that it is alright," she said.

Harry looked torn by the argument. Draco knew he wanted to keep Hermione safe, but at the same time that he wanted her there with him. After everything the three Gryffindors had gone through, Draco personally thought it was a miracle that they weren't attached at the hip.

"Harry, tell _Draco_ that there is nothing dangerous about me going," she said expectantly.

"Potter, tell Granger that it could be dangerous. She could die in this mission if something goes wrong," Draco said, mimicking Granger's look.

"Hermione, it's dangerous. What if you get hurt? I don't think I could handle it if anyone else died for me." Harry said softly.

Draco gave her an 'I told you so' look.

"Harry, it isn't just about you anymore. Yes, Voldemort wants to kill you more than anything, but at the same time, he wants to kill everyone else. Me and Ron have told you a countless amount of times, but you aren't in this alone. I'm not asking your permission either, I was just telling you that I was planning on going, whether you like it or not," she said.

Harry sighed again, "Hermione, if you go, then I don't want to have to worry about you. Promise me you'll be careful?" Harry asked of her, imitating a promise that he had made a few moments ago.

She rolled her eyes, "Seriously, between you and Ron one would hardly think I was capable of magic," she complained.

Draco glared at Potter, "Seriously? You're letting her come just like that? No complaints or arguments? What happened to keeping her safe?" Draco protested. There was no way that he was happy with Hermione going.

He wasn't sure what it was, but he felt a need to protect her from harm. He couldn't handle the thought that someone he knew could possibly kill her. What if it was his aunt Bellatrix? She had said it more than enough times that she would gladly kill the 'mudblood bitch of Potter' if she had the chance. He couldn't let her go, why couldn't she see that? He needed to keep her safe!

"Malfoy, you know her. Hermione's rather stubborn when she wants to be," he said, ignoring a protest from her. "And whether either of like it or not, she is the top of our class. Hell, she's probably the top of the school. I want to keep both her and Ron safe more than anything. But I know that they want to do the same for me. So I have to let her come," he said.

Hermione blushed slightly at his compliment. Draco looked between the two of them, when suddenly he made a connection. Are she and Potter dating? It was one of the only things that made sense to him.

Harry gave her a smile, "Well, I need to go. I have a Quidditch practice to get back to," he said as he nodded to both of them.

As he left, Hermione turned to face him. "Why are you so intent on trying to keep me safe?" She asked him curiously.

He shook his head, "No idea Granger. But there's just something about you that radiates an urge to keep you sheltered. Kind of like a puppy," he said honestly.

"Did you seriously just compare me to a puppy?" she asked him, eyes narrowing again.

"Maybe," he said quietly. He didn't want her to dwell on the topic, so he decided to change it. "So what's going on between you and Potter? Last I heard, you were pining over Weasley," he asked her, not unkindly.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Absolutely nothing. Harry's practically my brother," she said, her voice laced with amusement.

He felt a bit better at her statement, but kept his composure intact. The last thing he would want is for her to get any sorts of ideas.

"I'm sure that would leave Potter heartbroken," he said with a drawl.

She smirked at him, "Of course, between all the time spent fawning over Ginny, no I'm sure he wants me."

He shook his head. Why he would want Weaslette over Granger was completely beyond him.

"Ah of course. No wonder he was so eager to get to practice. And here I thought he wanted to train to beat our time," he said.

"The team doesn't need practice to beat the Slytherins," she said fondly.

"Whatever you say Granger," he spoke.

"Mmhm. Anyways, I need to go to the library Draco, so I'll see you around," she said. She walked up to him, and kissed him on the cheek before walking away.

Draco watched her go as he raised a hand to the place that he was kissed. He couldn't help but feel a tingly feeling inside of him. What the hell was happening to him?


	12. Diagon Alley

**Chapter 12**

Hermione tied her hair back as she mentally went over the plans for today. She was nervous for today. There were so many things that could go wrong; so many innocent people who could get caught in the crossfire if the slightest mishap were to happen or not. She hated the amount of anxiety she felt. She hated how she felt like something would go wrong.

She came down from her room to see Harry and Ron waiting for her in the Common Room. They were both pacing back and forth, obviously possessing the same amount of anxiety that she had.

"Are you guys ready to go?" She asked. They two of them nodded, and the trio made their way out of the portrait hole. They were to meet with Dumbledore before they used a Portkey to get to Diagon Alley. He wanted to go over the details of the afternoon once more.

Hermione knew that he was worried as well. Of course the Order was going to be there, but there were also going to be one underage wizard, and two who had just turned 17. Personally, Hermione was worried about Ron. She knew that it wasn't that she didn't think that he was capable. While he was no genius, he certainly wasn't stupid either. She knew that she had to give credit where credit was due.

After Hermione and Harry returned to their House a couple of days ago, they had been arguing about it. Harry was trying to play the hero once more and talk Hermione out of going for her own safety. But she certainly wasn't about to have any of that. The pair of them got into a small row, and Ron happened to stumble upon them at that precise moment.

His face had been all flushed, and his tie was slightly crooked. Hermione could only guess what he and Lavender Brown had gotten up to. But surprisingly for her, she found that she didn't care in the slightest.

His face immediately got serious as he saw their expressions. Once he had heard what was occurring, he demanded to go as well. Harry hated it, of course he had. But Ron was of age, and nothing Harry could say would persuade Ron not to go.

Harry muttered the password, which was some new absurd sweet. Hermione smiled over the man. He may have been the most brilliant man alive, but it was nice to know that he could still be so down to earth at times.

Dumbledore nodded at the three of them. They were the last to enter the room. She looked around the room and saw people she knew; Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, the Weasley twins, and more of the people she had spent the last two summers with.

She noticed that Draco's presence however, did not grace the room.

"Mr. Malfoy has already left," her headmaster said, as if to read her mind. "He wanted to return home early to secure his place with his father."

Hermione felt more anxiety as she thought about Draco. She had no idea what the results of the afternoon would be, and she was terrified to think that someone she knew could potentially die. She found herself tuning out as Dumbledore went over the safety procedures and different scenarios. It didn't matter that she did; she already memorized all the protocols the moment she heard them.

"Right then," Dumbledore said. "If no one has anything else to add, I do believe that the Portkey is almost ready to leave soon. So if you will all grab on to your assigned one," he said, gesturing to the several ones on his desk.

They had decided that it was unsafe for them all to arrive in the same area. If they all arrived in one specific area, and they were all caught off guard, then it would be harder to for the Death Eaters to know their specific numbers.

It sounded awful, it really did. But this was war, and this was how it had to be, whether Hermione liked it or not.

She grabbed onto the same Portkey as Harry, Ron and Remus. It began to vibrate rapidly and Hermione saw the room spin. The next thing she knew, she landed in Diagon Alley.

She grabbed out her wand instantly. She looked around and sighed in relief as she saw no Death Eaters in sight. However, she was concerned about the amount of people on the streets. She knew that there was no way that she could clear out everyone, but that doesn't mean that she couldn't try.

She took a step forward before her ex-professor grabbed her arm.

"Hermione, you can't save them all," he said in a warning tone.

"I have to try Remus! I can't let all of these innocent people die. There's no way that let them Remus; I need to help them, I do," She said nervously.

"Hermione, I know you do. But we need to keep our focus. If we start to tell these people then there will be a panic. And when there's a panic, even more people die," he said calmly.

Harry and Ron looked like they each wanted to protest as well, but thought against it.

She sighed, knowing that he was right. "Fine. But I don't like this Remus," she said.

"I know you don't, Hermione," he said softly. Ron placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

She nodded, as she spotted a Death Eater. "Remus, there's one of them over there!" She pointed, as she cast a stunning curse. The Death Eater collapsed as she cast a full body binding curse, just in case he came to.

Harry let out a breath, "So it's begun," he said as he held his wand out in front of him.

* * *

Draco walked in and sat down in his father's study. In the absence of his father, his house had certainly not lost its usual gloomy feel. However, with its recent inhabitant, Draco could honestly saw that the house had gotten darker than anything he had ever seen.

His father sat off to the side. It was weird not to see his father in the office chair in front of him. The chair was now occupied by none other than Lord Voldemort himself.

"My Lord," he greeted in an emotionless manner. "You wanted to see me?"

The snake before him configured his mouth into the most twisted smiled Draco had ever seen. He lifted his hand and stroked his snake, Nagini, which was currently curled up in his lap. He felt like vomiting at the sight in front of him, but resisted the urge.

"Young Malfoy," he said with a cruel tone, which Draco supposed was considered to be warm. "I have many, many plans for you," he said.

Draco bowed his head, "I am but a servant to you, my Lord. Whatever you deem fit for myself I shall do," he said. He felt an ugly taste in his mouth as he uttered those words, but kept his tone neutral. He also kept his mind blank, for he knew that Voldemort would be searching his every thought, attempting to find the slightest bit of hesitation.

Apparently he was right, as Voldemort held a satisfied expression.

"Draco, I wish for you to be one of the leaders in this raid today. I want you to prove your worth and step up to fill the enormous shoes your father has created for you. He has been absolutely indispensable, and I would want nothing more than to see you live up to your father. While he has had some failures, I am certain you will not. Do not disappoint me Draco," the thing said.

Draco knew that he was receiving a warning. Voldemort wanted nothing more than to punish his family, and if Draco failed in any of the tasks he was given, then Voldemort would use it as an opportunity to destroy the Malfoy name.

He felt disgusted. How dare this half-blood attempt to destroy the Malfoy heritage? Draco was not one for blood prejudices anymore, but he found it hard to tolerate the hypocrisy that sat before him.

"Of course my Lord, I would never do anything to disappoint you," he said, speaking to both the men in the room. He felt his father watching his every word and action like a hawk.

"I know you won't Draco," he said, as if failure wasn't an option. And Draco knew that it really wasn't one.

"What would you like for me to do today, my Lord?" he asked.

"I wish for you to lead a small pack of men, and bring havoc upon the store owners of your desire. And have some fun, kill a few mudbloods if you so desire," he said with a jeer.

Draco smiled, "I would like for nothing better than to do so," he said. However on the inside, he felt his stomach churn. How, in the name of Circe, was he supposed to lead a pack of men, all while making sure none of the Order got seriously injured?

This was going to be difficult and Draco knew it. He just hoped that Granger would be okay in all of this.

* * *

Draco let the group down the streets of Diagon Alley. In his command were Theodore Nott Sr., Fenrir Greyback, and the Carrows. None of them had been pleased to find out that they were in the command of a 17 year boy, but none of them had anything to say about it. After all, you don't simply tell Voldemort that you are unhappy with his choices unless you wished to die a very slow and agony filled death. And so the group followed him; but that didn't stop their snide smirks and taunting glances when they thought he wasn't doing something right.

It wasn't that it shook up his confidence; Merlin knew that he had more than enough of it to last him a life time. But it did get annoying to have someone constantly questioning your every move.

He spotted a street which he was sure was empty. It would be the first place they would attack once the mark when of in the sky. He wanted to keep the damage as minimal as possible, all while proving his loyalty. And if he couldn't control the amount of damage created, then at least he would be able to control where the damage occurred and the casualties of the evening.

The four Death Eaters behind him waited anxiously as he checked the time. It was seconds away from 2; the attack was dawning upon them. He looked up in the sky, and watched as the sky darkened. The Dark Mark filled the sky, and Draco knew that it was time.

"Go," he chuckled. "Go burn down the shops to your heart's desire," he said, as he watched them go destroy the street of the area that he thought was one of the most magical places in the world after Hogwarts itself.

He set the roof on fire of a store and looked behind him. He spotted a group of Aurors behind him, and knew that now would be the perfect time to act. Silently, he cast a stunning curse and knocked out both of the Carrows at once.

He watched as Tonks nodded acknowledging at him and gave him a smile. So this was the cousin he never got to meet. Hopefully, he would get to know her later on. But for now, he had to keep his head in the moment.

If any of the other Death Eaters in his group noticed the Carrows fall, they didn't say anything. They kept on in their mission, terrorizing the poor shops on the street. They hadn't yet noticed the other Aurors, which gave them the upper hand.

He watched as his ex-defense professor stunned Sr. Nott. He hoped for Theo's sake that he would be okay.

"Are you just going to stand there Malfoy, or are you going to hex some Aurors?" Fenrir roared at him.

Draco remembered his place, as he feigned a curse at one of the Aurors. Due to his lack of aim, it ended up knocking over a barrel of merchandise.

Fenrir looked as if he would rip out Draco's throat at that moment. He growled, and Draco felt relieved that it was nowhere near the full moon. As Fenrir attempted a dark curse, Kingsley hit him straight in the chest with a hex. Fenrir fell back and landed in the middle of the street.

Draco preformed a full body binding curse of each of the four captured Death Eaters to allow the Order to take them in for questioning.

"Nice work little cousin," Nymphadora said as she ruffled his hair.

Draco glared at the strange woman in front of him. At the moment she had a bubble gum colour for her hair; something a pureblood woman would be mortified about. But if Draco looked passed her absurd fashion choices, he could see Black family traits about her.

"Nymphadora," he said in a mockingly cool tone.

She pressed her wand against his neck in a swift movement, catching him completely off guard. For a second, Draco was worried that she had no idea about the fact that he was a turncoat.

"No one, and I mean no one, calls my Nyphadora," she growled as she droped her wand. "Call me that again, and I won't hesitate to curse you so bad that you wish you weren't born."

Draco relaxed, relieved that she wasn't about to curse him momentarily. Bloody hell, for a woman, she terrified the living daylights out of him; not that he would ever tell her that.

"It's good to see that my mother and Sirius weren't the only two who made it out of that madhouse," she said as she brought him into a hug.

Draco felt a bit strange just then. Actions such as embraces were not something that was often displayed or received as Draco grew up. His mother on one hand would hug him occasionally, but that was all. Other than that, there was a distinct lack of intimacy throughout his childhood.

"Nice to see you too," he said as the witch continued to strangle him to death.

"Tonks, now isn't the time for such emotions. We don't want any Death Eaters to see and give away Draco's position. We must be off to go track more of them. Until next time Malfoy," Kingsley's low voice rumbled.

Draco placed his mask over his face once more. He was a bit worried that the two of them knew that he had turned against Voldemort. If they knew, then who knew who else did? He knew that he was being paranoid. After all, Dumbledore was definitely not lacking in the brains department. If Dumbledore decided to tell a few people then it was most likely for Draco's safety.

As the Aurors made their way after some other Death Eaters, Draco searched for another group of Death Eaters to blend into. Spotting on a couple feet away, Draco slipped in to their ranks, at the very end of the line. As he did, he pulled out his wand and stunned several Death Eaters, one by one. He made sure that no one would notice.

There were now about six people in the line in front of him. As he was about to cast another stunning spell, the leader began to turn suddenly.

Draco froze in his tracks. If the person in charge of the line continued to turn around, then they would see Draco. The person would see the five Death Eaters that Draco had already cursed.

Thankfully, at that moment, A group of Aurors burst out, and began sending hexes at the group. Draco continued to hex several Death Eaters. Finally, it was just Draco, the leader and the group of Aurors. Draco spotted Granger among the Order of the Phoenix. He let out a breath of relief as he saw that she was still alright.

The leader of the group looked to Draco, as he realized that the two of them were outnumbered. He apparated away, leaing Draco alone with the Order.

They had their wands drawn out at him, and Draco panicied, before realizing that his mask was still on. Waving it away with his wand, he faced the group before him.

They lowered their wands at the sight at him. Granger was among both the Weasel and Potter, as well as his ex-defense professor Lupin. At least he knew that she would be in good hands.

"Did you hex the rest of them?" Granger asked, as she nodded towards the previously stunned Death Eaters. Her face was covered in scratches, and her robes were torn. Merlin, she was lucky to not have been hurt more. Growing up among the Death Eaters, Draco knew what many of them were capable of. And he sure knew that he would not wish that upon anyone.

"Nice work Malfoy," Potter said, as he offered a smile.

Draco was about to say something in return; to offer them a term of congradulations, but just as he was about to, puffs of black smoke appeared around him. Knowing what was happening, he drew out his wand at the Order. He gave them a quick look to let them know what was coming; to let the know who was coming.

Apparating to his sides were his aunt and father.

"Well done Draco," his aunt crackled. "You've tracked down the Order and managed to have a fair fight against them. I did train you well," she sneered at the group before him.

His father stood beside him, silently. He didn't offer any words, but Draco could practically smell the pride radiating off him like a bad scent.

And it wasn't just the two of them who apparated. It was the entire inner circle of the Death Eaters; anyone who the Voldemort considered to be highly trustworthy. However, there was more.

Standing in the dead centre of the group was none other than Voldemort himself.

"Well, well Draco, I see you haven't failed me yet. You have managed to track down Potter, as well as his Blood-traitor and mudblood pets," he said in a hissing, snakelike tone. "I do believe there is hope for you yet."

Draco felt his heart sink, knowing that there was no way that he would be able to do anything in this situation. Before, he was stuck with blithering idiots, and fooling them was no challenge. But now however, he would be attempting to fool the greatest minds that the dark side had in their ranks. The odds were not looking too favourable for him.


	13. The Fight Continues

**Chapter 13**

_"Well, well Draco, I see you haven't failed me yet. You have managed to track down Potter, as well as his Blood-traitor and mudblood pets," he said in a hissing, snakelike tone. "I do believe there is hope for you yet."_

Draco had placed his mask on the moment the Death Eaters appeared. The last thing he wanted was for Voldemort to know that Draco had been compromised. In Voldemort's eyes, if Draco had been found out, then it would risk his chances of being able to perform his task. And if that were to happen, then he would be proved to be worthless and both him and his mother would be killed on the spot.

Draco bowed, and in his smoothest voice he replied, "Of course my Lord, I would never dream of letting you down."

He had his wand drawn out as he fell in line with his father, while Voldemort stood in front of his group of Death Eaters.

"Look around you, my fellow worthy ones. Look at the filth that has polluted our precious world. We deserve to live as Kings, ruling this world with our powers. However those of lesser value have begun to climb their way up our ancient roots. They have begun to dirty our world with their speeches of _equality_," Voldemort said, spitting out the last word, while glaring at Potter. "My friends, once a branch of an ancient tree has become diseased, we must cut it off, no? If not the rest of the tree will soon after die. We hide away from the muggle scum in fear, but might I ask you why? Why do we need to hide away from trash? If we wanted to, we could put them in their place."

Throughout the speech, Draco kept his eye on the Order. He knew there was no way they would simply stand their idly while Voldemort was trashing them and what they stood for. He watched them whisper amongst themselves, while a couple sent off a few patronouses wordlessly.

'Good,' he thought. At least they were getting a couple more reinforcements in the meantime. He watched as before him, several more Aurors and members of the Order of Phoenix apparated right before him, much to the chagrin of Voldemort.

"Too afraid to face me on your own, Potter? Do you really need all these people to die for you? What would your mudblood mother say, if she knew how cowardly you are being. She died to protect you, as countless others surely will. Is your life worth so much that you would risk the lives of the people you deem to be your _friends_?" Voldemort spat out at the Boy Who Lived.

"Oh I don't need them to protect me," Harry said coolly as he stepped up in front of the Light side, while ignoring their warnings for him to stay put. "They are here to stand by me, and help me defeat you. Because that's what _friends_ do," Harry said, putting an extra emphasis on the _'friends'_ part. "But it is not as if you would know that now is it Tom? You have never loved anyone in your life, nor had the wondrous pleasure of having someone to confide in.

Tonks fired off the first spell, which signaled the beginning of the fight. The Light faced the Dark, while Draco stood by. He wasn't quite sure what to do. He couldn't attack any Aurors/Order members, but if he didn't then he would blow his cover.

"Draco, come join me," Voldemort said, beckoning to the boy. Draco stood beside the snake like man, if you could call him that much. In his best attempt, he glared at the Golden Trio in front of him.

"You say the word as it is something desirable Potter. But you mistake its meaning. Love is nothing more than a weakness. It hinders your emotions and your capability. Once you put it aside, you will be so much more powerful. I give you one last chance Potter. I have offered this to you before, and I hardly ever re-offer such chances. Join me Potter, and we can rule this world together," Voldemort said to the boy.

Draco almost choked. Voldemort would rather murder the boy in his sleep than offer such a chance. Thankfully he knew Harry would never in a million years accept such a deal.

Harry laughed in spite. "I should join you, Tom? And why would I do that? You murdered my mother and father, and are the reason that my godfather died. You are the last person I would ever wish to join up with Riddle."

Voldemort was enraged. "You dare call me by my filthy muggle father's name, Potter?"

For the first time since Voldemort had arrived, Hermione spoke out. "Oh grow up Tom. You are like every other kid who grew up without a father. He abandoned you, and you are set on hating him for that. I bet if he were a pureblood, you would still find a reason to hate him. So get over your stupid abandonment issues and stop murdering all of these poor souls who have done nothing to you," She said glaring at the man.

Weasel had turned to gawk at her, as Potter looked at her wonderstruck. Not that he blamed them. He wanted to start a round of applause, however that would give him away, so he ceased the idea from his mind.

"You dare not only to address me, but to speak out against me you filthy mudblood? I should show you your place!" he glowered at Hermione.

"You won't lay a single finger on her Riddle," A voice called out from behind them all. Turning, Draco saw his Headmaster. His hair was flying behind him, and his eyes were full of rage at the thought of one of his students being harmed. "

"Ah, Dumbledore I was wondering where you were. It's nice of you to finally join us," Voldemort said, embracing his foe with his words, as if he were an old friend.

"I do wish it were under nicer pretences, I will not lie," Dumbledore said humourlessly. "Leave now Tom," he said as he looked around at the destroyed market place. "You have caused more than enough damage for one day."

"You dare tell me to leave?" Voldemort looked furious. He began sending hexes at the Wizard. Dumbledore blocked them easily as he sent of protections spells. Draco ducked out of the way, as Dumbledore pushed the trio away from him. He shot a few measly curses at no one in particular as he watched the three Gryffindors fight some of the Death Eaters that he had known his entire life.

"Be useful boy!" Bellatrix hissed at him, as she forced another Auror on his knees. He winced. He knew that the Auror would probably need to be rushed to St. Mungos, for his aunt was often ruthless on the battlefield.

Draco blended in to an area where the fighting was blurry. There he could hex the Death Eaters, without anyone suspecting that it was he who cast the curses. He knocked over Yaxley, Avery and Mulciber with a single wave of his wand.

The fighting was intensifying. He had no idea which side would walk away with more limbs intact. He desperately hoped it would be the Order, despite the fact that his family was fighting on the other side. It was odd, to not be wishing for his family's safety. Maybe it was due to the fact that he never had that picture perfect childhood filled with lots of love, hugs, and happy memories. However that didn't bother him. If it weren't for the fact that Voldemort had his mother's life in his grasp, Draco would have long left them behind.

Draco continued to fight. If not for his own childhood, then for the one of those children ahead of him, who still had their entire lives to live.

* * *

Hermione watched in horror at the scene in front of her. She never dreamed that this would turn into a confrontation between Voldemort and Dumbledore. She knew that this fight was also between Harry, but the horcruxes were nowhere near all destroyed.

Yes, that's right. Harry had told her about the horcruxes. She had never doubted that the boy would keep such a secret from her and Ron. Once she heard about them, she did everything in her power to research them. However, much to her dismay, she could not find a single thing in the library at Hogwarts about them. Hogwarts currently had the largest library in all of Britain, so for them not to have a book on a particular subject was extremely rare. She supposed it was to prevent any future students to create such monstrous objects after Voldemort had done so.

She looked around the alley. She remembered that when she was eleven years old, she had made her way down the streets with her parents. Her childhood had been rough; she was always so different from all the other kids at her school, and they never ceased to stop mocking her for it. So one day, she turned to books. Her parents had always read to her as a young child; it was a natural escape from the world she lived in. But once she had learned that she was a witch, her life had been forever changed. Now, she looked down the same alley six years later, and felt sadness.

Stores that she had loved to explore had been burnt down, while others, which she supposed were owned by purebloods, were flourishing before her, like a lone tree in a completely destroyed forest. How could anyone destroy somewhere that had so much magic just for the sake of it? It baffled her to now that someone could be capable of such a thing. The street had now turned into one huge dueling arena, with the Order and the Death Eaters firing spells back and forth. She and Ron had been pushed away from Dumbledore's fight with Voldemort, so they had taken to cursing other Death Eaters. Throughout the entire thing, she kept a mental eye on which hooded figure she knew to be Draco. She felt the urge to protect him. She supposed it was because in his mask, the Order would not know which one he was, and could accidently curse him beyond repair.

She was currently fighting a Death Eater that she wasn't able to identify. Back in Dumbledore's office when they were going over the details of how to proceed, Dumbledore had told her to send any Death Eaters they had knocked unconscious to a secret room in the Order's. There they would question the Death Eater for any further details that they could provide them with. She couldn't say that she was fond of the idea; however she knew that it was necessary. They were in the middle of a war, and she could be certain that anything they did would be no here near as what would happen if someone on her side were to be captured.

As she knocked him unconscious, she placed a binding spell on him, before sending him off to the specified location. Turning around, she tried to make out what was happening, however she could not make out heads or tails of the situation. All she saw was utter chaos that ensued. She had no idea if a side was wining, if not any. She saw Ron struggling with a Death Eater, so she cursed him. Ron looked up and smiled at her.

"Thanks 'Mione," he screamed out to her. A few months ago, that would have melted her heart. Now however, it did nothing for her. She supposed it was because she had gotten over him; seeing Ron with Lavender probably would hurt her, but now she just felt happy for him.

As she was about to respond with a 'no problem' she saw Ron's face whiten. She turned around, only to drop quickly to the ground as he body began to waver in pain. She felt like she was on fire. She needed to pain to end. Oh Merlin, just let her die; the pain was so bad it felt like it could kill her. She clenched her eyes together begging for the pain to end, as she heard a haunting laugh above her body. The last thing she remembered was a voice shouting out in anguish, asking her to hold on. She lost track of her surroundings as she cried out once more in pain before she was engulfed by darkness.

* * *

Before Hermione opened her eyes, she heard three male, adolescence voices talking. She tried to open her eyes, however they stayed shut. Where ever she was, she was still in a half unconscious state of mind.

"She took quite a large dose of the spell," one voice said worriedly. "What if she turns out like Neville's parents? That would be awful. I don't think we could manage a day without Hermione."

"The Cruciatus curse does happen to be one of my Aunt's specialities," a second voice said bitterly. Was that Draco? She was pretty sure it was, but not completely sure. Where was she? She thought back to her last conscious memory. She was fighting in Diagon Alley. She had just tackled a Death Eater, once she began to feel pain. She supposed that was an effect of the curse that had been placed upon her.

The battle! What had happened? Had everyone gotten out alright? Was anyone injured? With these thoughts flowing through her mind, she shot straight up, fully conscious, before wincing. Okay, so maybe attempting to sit up after being under Cruciatus was not the brightest idea.

"Easy there," Ron said softy. The boys, Harry, Ron, and Draco, looked immensely relieved to see her awake.

"Thank Merlin's baggy robes, you're awake," Draco said. He had a relieved, yet a pained expression on his face. He must have been internally blaming himself for her attack. She reached out and took his hand in his.

"Hey, I'm fine," she said softly. She faced the other two before repeating, "I'm fine." They did not look completely convinced at her statement. She sighed, knowing how hard it could be to convince them.

"I told you that you shouldn't go," Draco said angrily. "What if she killed you, Hermione? Then what would I have done? It would have all been my fault if you died!"

She squeezed his hand tightly. Ron and Harry looked slightly startled at his outburst. She couldn't say she blamed them. She had no idea when he had begun to care for her. She knew that he didn't hate her, and that recently the two of them had their moments, but it was never anything like this.

"Draco, I'm fine. She didn't kill me. She could have tried, but you mustn't blame yourself. If you remember, you threw quite a fit once you found out I wanted to go. All that needs to happen is that I need to recover. After that, I'll be as good as new," she said soothingly.

Her words seemed to settle him down a bit. He slumped down in his chair, but did not pull his hand away from hers. Instead, he covered his other palm over her hand, as if to protect it.

"What happened after I blacked out?" Hermione asked. She wanted to know, and the boys didn't look as if they were about to mention it any time soon.

"None of that matters at the moment 'Mione. We can talk about all of that later," Harry said in a soothing voice that she knew all too well.

Her eyes narrowed. There was something they didn't want her to know. By now, she knew Ron and Harry probably better than anyone in the world. And when the two of them wanted to keep her out of the loop about something, they would attempt to change the subject. It rarely worked on her anymore, and it was definitely not about to work now.

Hermione spoke in her calmest voice, "Harry, what happened after I blacked out? I'm in perfect, okay almost perfect, condition. If someone died, then I want to know Harry!" she said, her voice rising slightly at the last part.

But who could blame her? When Ron and Harry were being cryptic, Hermione always began to think of the worst possible scenario of what could have happened that they didn't want her to know.

"Who died?" Hermione asked repeating her question in a more blunt manner.

Ron was the first to reply this time, "No one died Hermione. I can practically see all the possibly racing in your mind. Just relax; there were a few near fatal injuries, but nothing Madam Pomfery cannot take care of."

She relaxed slightly at this, but not completely. There was still something that the boys weren't tellingher, and she was getting impatient.

"Okay, spit it out. What happened?" she asked after it became clear that they weren't going to tell her out of their own free will.

Harry sighed deeply, "I'm sorry Hermione. I never should have gotten you involved in any of this. It's not your place, nor Ron's have to deal with potential consequences of being friends with me. Hermione, as we were leaving with you, Voldemort screamed out that he was going to destroy everyone and everything I care about. I didn't know what that meant at the time; none of us did," he started softly.

Hermione began to panic. She didn't like where this was heading. "Harry, what happened?" she asked, her voice wavering.

"He went after your parents, 'Mione," Harry said softly.

She felt the tears drip down her face. She asked the question that would either relieve her of pain or send her into a realm of misery.

"Are they dead?" she asked softly.

Harry had a pained expression on his face as he replied. "No, he was enjoying torturing them, so he didn't kill them right away. As soon as I realized they were at risk, we apparated immediately. Luckily we got there just in time. They have some severe wounds, but they are being treated as we speak."

Hermione shut her eyes and let a couple of tears escape as she tilted her head backward. Her parents were safe, at least for now anyways.


	14. Coming to Conclusions

**Chapter 14**

Hermione let out a tiny sigh as she stretched as she woke up in the familiar white walls of the Hospital wing. She kept wishing that she wouldn't spend each morning waking up in the uncomfortable bed that she had still not grown accustomed to. She had been here for about a week, and was getting seriously sick of it. She knew that she had been well enough to leave the wing for the last several days, yet didn't due to the wonderful Madam Pomfery, who seemed intent on keeping her until Hermione was seventy.

"Sleep well?" a voice asked from the red armchair that she could only assume had been conjured up. Madam Pomfery did not like for her prisoners to have too much company. She turned her head about ninety degrees to the left to see none other than Draco Malfoy sprawled over the chair. His hair was tousled, and his tie loosened around his shirt that had a few buttons undone. She could see a bit of his pale, yet muscular chest. At the sight, her breath hitched slightly, but not enough for him, or anyone else to notice. She knew that he had spent the night. It was lucky for them that the curtain to the bed was drawn; no one could see in, nor could they see out.

Draco had been skiving off on most of his classes on the pretenses of being ill. He had told his Slytherin buddies that he needed time to recover from the battle that he had fought valiantly in, but their side, the Dark side, had unfortunately lost that round. He had received a letter from his father, congratulating him on his individual success, for Voldemort now viewed him as one of his own prized possessions. While Hermione was pleased that he had done well and would be able to guarantee his role as a spy, she was not relieved by this news. If anything, it stressed her out, thinking about how much more danger he could be in, and the potential dangers he could face if his charade was found out.

She knew that if Harry and Ron were allowed, they would be joining her as well. They spent most of their little free time with her. However, because of the recent attacks, Dumbledore had decided that he needed to do more to prepare the Chosen One than simply show him some memories. They had been going through potential Horcruxes for ages; however, first they needed to guarantee that Voldemort had actually created them to begin with, . Ron however, was far behind in his school work. While taking a week off of school was no big problem for Hermione, for she was already weeks ahead in her schooling. However, for Ron to have to get through the week without Hermione to provide aid for him was a challenge.

"You didn't have to stay here all night you know," she mumbled sleepily before giving him a smile. Ever since the night that she had been attacked, she knew he felt guilty, but no matter how much she explained that it was in no way his fault, he simply would not hear of it.

"It's okay, I wanted to," he said, unconvincingly. She looked at him, searching his eyes for anything that could give away that he was feeling internally.

Hermione attempted to sit up in the bed before wincing in pain. While she knew that she would no longer have any after effects of the curse. That didn't mean that she wasn't still sore from the pain that she had endured.

He immediately got out from his chair and sat on the edge of the bed. He placed his hand upon the small of her back and another one her hand worryingly. She laced her tiny fingers through his before looking up at him reassuringly. He was growing fast into one of her good friends. She was grateful for his company, and was also glad to have him by her side. She wasn't entirely sure why, but she adored having him be so protective of her. While Ron and Harry often were, it was different.

She now viewed the two of them as brothers, even Ron. She figured that any feelings she once had for the ginger-haired boy, was because of uncertainty. He was always there, but he wasn't quite brotherly as Harry was. So she had confused the feelings. But something about Draco did not fit into that brotherly shaped mould that Ron and Harry fit so perfectly into. And while she couldn't quite classify him into the different groups she had established for the people involved in her life (family, teachers, friends, acquaintances) as she did with everyone else she met, she was more than content not filing him away just yet.

"Draco, I'm okay; just a little sore," she said as his eyebrows furrowed, with a prominent crease building upon his brow.

"Hermione, you should just rest. Don't over exert yourself; just spend one more day in the wing," he pleaded with her softly.

Before Hermione could argue, the curtains opened rapidly with a swish. Hermione looked up, as Draco jumped away from her rapidly.

"Unfortunately Mr. Malfoy, even I have to allow my patients to leave here eventually," the woman said, in a tone they were not used to. The pair of them looked up to see Madam Pomfery staring at the two of them with a seemingly knowing glance. However, she did not say anything. Instead, she had a vile of a potion in her hand, and poured a tiny amount into a cup. She handed the cup embellished with a simple pattern, to Hermione.

"For the pain," the Healer said pausing slightly. "I can't stop it entirely, however I can make some of it go away."

As Hermione sipped the potion, Draco protested. "Can't you keep her here until she's better?" Draco asked the woman before them.

The woman gave him a smile; it was a smile that older women often gave children who didn't quite seem to understand the way of the world. Hermione knew it all too well, for she hated being on the receiving end of that smile.

"Mr. Malfoy, as much as I wish I could keep her here until she her health has been completely restored, I cannot. The beds are much needed in the Hospital wing. Every day several students are always coming in as a result of duels in the corridors, with their injuries being of varying levels. I need to make sure that all of those students are taken care of, and I am sure Miss. Granger can heal the same way in her own bed, which I am sure she much prefers, over the beds here," she said.

Hermione looked up at the woman in surprise as she handed over the cup. She had no idea that the animosity between the students of the school had been so bad. While she knew all too well that the prejudices of the outside world were slowly seeping their way into the school, it was beyond what she had thought it to be.

She felt the pain begin to lessen, and some of her strength began to be regained. Madam Pomfery handed her the vile of the potion before giving her instructions on restrictions on taking the potion and how frequently she should be taking it.

Draco left the Hospital wing first. Hermione counted thirty long seconds before following out after him. The two of them could not be seen together, not now after everything the world was going through. They were on opposite sides of this war and they knew it. So they could not be seen together, or it would break the status quo.

They had decided that the two of them would meet up in the Room of Requirement with Harry and Ron, after each eating some breakfast, to go over the next steps in their plans against Voldemort. While Hermione could have eaten the meal offered by the Hospital, she wished to get out of there as soon as possible. Thankfully, it was a Saturday, so the boys would not be in class. They would most likely be still in their beds, cuddled up under their blankets, or in Ron's case, with Lavender Brown. As she made her way up the Gryffindor steps, she mentally prepared herself for any sights she may face upon entering the room. Thankfully, by now she had years of experience on walking into the boys' room, and hardly anything would surprise her anymore.

She paused outside their door, and contemplated knocking. Deciding against it, she opened the door, and found the four boys still in their beds, without any sign of getting up anytime soon (or Lavender even being in the room).

She sat on Harry's bed and spoke in a soft manner, "Harry," she whispered. She waited for a reaction; any sort of indication that he had heard her and planned to get up. After a few moments, it had become blatantly obvious that she wasn't going to get one.

She shook him slightly while murmuring his name once more. He stirred and his eyes began to twitch.

"Ginny," he said in a dream-like state. She smiled upon hearing this. Secretly, she had been rooting for the two of them for years. But Harry was not about to notice her anytime soon. Hardly anyone ever recognised the sister of one of their mates. So she had told the girl to go and get some experience and date around a little. It would give her a chance to explore herself, without waiting around for a guy who hardly noticed her.

She shook him, only slightly harder this time. "Harry, wake up," she said, speaking in a louder tone.

"Wasapening," he said startled, as he sat up. His hair was dishevelled; more than she thought was possible. He grabbed his circular glasses that she knew he was completely blind without.

As he recognised her, he brought her into a tight embrace. "Hermione!" he said gleefully. "They let you out of the wing," he said, while nearly squishing the life out of her.

She smiled to herself, "Harry, do you think you could loosen your grip slightly?" she asked, gasping slightly for air.

Harry's outburst had woken the other three occupants in the room. They sat up groggily at the noise as their eyes squinted, trying to get accustomed to the light shining in through the window.

"Hermione?" Seamus asked, as he made an attempt to cover his half naked body back up. She knew that he had been wearing his knickers to bed, but also knew better than to look.

"Morning, Seamus" she said cheerily, as she looked away from him and his current state of undress.

"They let you out of the hospital?" Ron asked, while making a bad attempt to sit up in his bed. As he finally managed to, he looked at her, as surprised as everyone else had been that she had actually been let out of there.

"Mmhm, now get your butts out of bed. I'm starving, and I want to talk to you guys about a couple of things," she said, a bit secretly.

If either Dean or Seamus had suspected that something was up, they did not say. They had long learned that the trio would always have some secret, and that it was generally better not to ask them what it was about.

"If you guys are going to leave, then please do," Dean said as he buried himself further inside his blankets. Hermione rolled her eyes as both Ron and Harry jumped out of bed. Thankfully for her, neither of the boys were half-dressed. While she didn't have feelings for either of them, it hadn't meant that she still wished to see them like that.

She looked around awkwardly, realising that the boys needed to change in order for them to be able to leave, "Right then," she said. "I'm going to wait outside for you guys," she said as she hastily left the room.

* * *

Draco waited in the Room of Requirements for the 'Golden Trio', as they were often called. He was worried still for Hermione, and could not help it. The words that Madam Pomfery had fed him in an attempt to soothe his mind had not worked. He did not care what Hermione said, it was his fault that he had suffered under the Cruciatus Curse. He should have been able to protect her, yet he couldn't. It was a wonder that Potter, Weasley, and the rest of their side did not think so as well.

He awaited his next orders from Voldemort. The last letter from his parents did not reveal any more plans that were in store for him. So he knew that in the meantime, he was to work on his plan to destroy Dumbledore. Yet he had no idea of how to find a way around actually killing him. Dumbledore probably had some sort of plan on how to save him, but if he did, Dumbledore did not say. He wished the old man would just tell him of his plans for once, yet he did not see fit to share.

He watched as the trio made their way into the room, and closed it behind them.

"Malfoy," Potter greeted in a tone that had no animosity. It was strange for the boy to take a pleasant tone with him, but he supposed that after everything, it was hard to hate the other.

Weasley of course, had no problems in showing his despise as the ginger glared at him.

"Weasley," he greeted in the same tone that Potter held with him, much to the dismay of the boy he was greeting.

"Draco," Hermione said with a smile, as she embraced the boy. He smirked slightly as Weasley glared at him with even more ice in his eyes.

"So, Potter, I was wondering what the next course of action was," he said casually as the four of them took a seat.

"Actually, I'm not quite sure," Potter confessed. "Dumbledore and I are looking heavily into trying to find a way to bring down Voldemort, but it's proving to be quite difficult."

"And the Horcrux search?" Draco asked the boy. He watched the three pairs of eyes widen as they looked at him with matching stunned expressions. He knew that they were surprised that he had known about it.

"Who told you?" Weasley asked with a glare. "How do you know Malfoy? Have you been eavesdropping on conversations you shouldn't have heard?"

He replied calmly, "My father. I've known for a while, as I am sure you have as well."

Weasley seemed to calm down a bit, but Granger looked up with him, with much intent sparklingly through her soft brown eyes.

"Do you know of any other Horcruxes by any chance then?" She asked him, with much hope.

He shook his head, "I know of a few possible relics that it could be, but not any for certain."

The three of them looked slightly disappointed, but the look quickly left their faces once Draco added the next part.

"I can look into it though," he said. "I'm sure that He is beginning to trust me more and more, and eventually he will reveal his secret to me. And once he does, I can feed you the information. It just might take a while for him to trust me to that extent. However, in the meantime, I can make sure that I pay attention to any objects that he seems to value above the rest," he added.

Potter smiled at him. It was a weird gesture on his part, but Draco assumed that he should be getting used to it, now that the four of them were getting on much better terms with each other. Weasley, on the other hand, wrapped an arm around Hermione, as if to protect her, and shot him a wary look. Hermione, who still looked slightly pale since the attack, lay her head down upon his chest. Draco frowned as he watched, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. She was barely his friend, and even with that, he still did not have a claim upon him.

Draco watched, as Ron got up suddenly and said, "Well, if that's all then I have somewhere that I need to be." Harry stood up, and held a hand to Hermione, who shook her head.

"I have a few more things that I need to talk to Draco about," she said softly, and his heart began to race. While Ron looked disappointed, Harry merely shrugged. The two boys made their way away from the room, as Hermione slumped down a little lower on her couch.

"I never got to thank you," she said in a gentle manner. Her hair was still a bit messy as it usually was over the years; however it had settled down over the years, to a point where he found it near endearing.

"For what?" he asked, in a near whisper. He had done nothing that deserved her being thankful.

She smiled at him, "Draco, you warned me not to go, and I still went in spite of that. Yet you never got angry at me for that. Instead, when I was harmed, you didn't blame me, but yourself. And Draco, whether you choose to believe me or not, it up to you. However, I don't blame you. Not now, nor did I ever. But I do owe you a thank you. You spent so much time with me in the Hospital wing; even though I am sure you had far more better things to do with your time. Yet you stayed by me, making sure that I was okay. And I think that I probably would have died of boredom, had you not," she said.

Draco stared at her, unsure of what to say. He had never thought of it like he was giving up his time to be with her. Instead, he viewed it as a chance to get to spend time with her. He wanted to be with her there, and he in no way had even considered it to be an obligation. As he pondered these thoughts, trying to make heads from tails, he came to a conclusion. It was a conclusion that probably would have driven him to declare that he was going mad any other year before this, but now, he didn't view it that way; he couldn't. Because he knew that he would be mad if he failed to see her in this light. So as he closed his eyes, and allowed his other senses to take over, he came to the anything but unsettling conclusion that he had feelings for Hermione Granger.


	15. Gaining Knowledge

**Chapter 15**

Snape entered the Headmaster's office with a huff. What had been so important that he had been summoned to the room immediately, without so much as being able to finish his dinner? Upon setting foot into the room, he noticed that the lighting in the room was dark, and he was unable to see the face of Dumbledore right away. As he made his way closer to the desk, he noticed that Dumbledore bore a grim expression; something was very wrong.

"What has happened?" Snape asked in an almost hushed tone. There had been so much news lately of the war, and even though he wasn't directly involved, he still felt as if he were to blame. If he had never told Voldemort of the Prophesy, then Lily would still be alive. Who knows what could have happened then? For all he knew, Voldemort could have been vanquished years ago, and none of this could be happening now.

However, it was not the time for remorse. It was time to go and fix all the mistakes that his past had made. He only hoped that he would be able to set things right.

Dumbledore gestured to the chair on the opposite side of the desk, as if he were a student in trouble. Snape sat down without a complaint. He had long learnt it better not to question the great wizard, for he often knew things that the rest of the world hadn't known.

"I need you to do something for me Severus," Dumbledore said, with a pained look in his eyes. Snape knew that whatever he was about to be asked, that he would not like it one bit.

"What is it," he asked, in a guarded tone.

"I need you to kill me."

It was the sort of sentence that had Severus had something in his mouth, he would have spit it out. His eyes widened at the request, not completely sure that he had heard the man correctly. Dumbledore held up his hand, before Snape could question the bizarre request which he had just received.

"Hear me out Severus," he said in a firm tone which did not allow for questioning. "We've searched for months for a cure. We both know that I am already dying, and there is nothing left to do, other than bide out my time. I made a foolish mistake in picking up that right without some sort of protection, and I accept that. But I cannot change the past. So why should I want to wait out the last of my days in pain and agony?"

Severus masked his shock with a neutral front, "Do you want me to do it now, or?"

Dumbledore chuckled gingerly, "You don't need to be so bland all the time Severus. It's okay to say what you truly feel. You think it's a bad idea, that much I can tell; but there's more to it Severus. Ever since Draco came to me, I've been thinking for a way to get him out of his task. I am rather brilliant, as you are well aware, so I have thought up a million different scenarios, with ways that I could avoid death, but then both you and Draco shall be punished. However either way, I shall die. So if I can at least help secure both of you place as spies amongst his ranks, and grant myself a simpler death, should I not grasp the opportunity with open arms?" The man said in an annoyingly wise manner.

Snape closed his eyes. While he hated to admit it, it was a rather brilliant plan. This way, no one would suspect either one of them or their loyalty. And if something happened to Draco later on in a mission, it would be easy to fake his death, all while proving that the boy was still loyal to Voldemort's cause.

"And I suppose no one will know of this either?" Snape asked, as he rubbed each temple with a forefinger. It was a logical guess, seeing that few knew of their current arrangements, and none of them knew the exact depth of their bond.

Dumbledore did not need to reply for him to know the answer to his question.

"So they will all think that I've betrayed them. Dumbledore, if I go to Azkaban for you, then I swear to Merlin, I will bring you back, and kill you, just so I actually fit the crime I will be punished for," Severus said in a warning tone.

Dumbledore chuckled once more, "Oh Severus, you underestimate me. I take out every single one of my memories and store them away. If such a situation shall arise, then one only need to look at my memories to find out the truth behind our current predicament. In the meantime, let us hope that it shall not come to that."

Snape sighed. He knew what it was that he signed up for that day when he had begged Dumbledore to save Lily Potter's life. But it bothered him to know that Draco would think of him differently. Sure the boy had no idea of what Snape's role in all of this was, other than the fact that Voldemort knew that Dumbledore thought he was a spy for the light. But the boy would never know the true extent of what he went through to save Potter's life. Hell, Potter probably would continue to hate him, and never even know what it was that he had sacrificed for the boy.

He never asked for any credit. He could care less about what people around him thought. He had stopped caring the minute he had made the mistake of allowing the girl that he loved to slip through his fingers. From that moment, he was alone.

He knew that Draco probably was in a similar position at the moment. He had known the boy from the time that he was a tiny infant. He also probably knew more about him than his idiot of a father, and poor mother. He knew that Draco was fast on his way into being head over heels in love with Granger, whether the boy knew it or not.

"You're thinking about the young Malfoy, are you not?" Dumbledore asked him knowingly. "He'll be in safe hands. The intimate circle of the Order knows about him, and no matter what happens, they'll take him in and make sure that nothing happens to the boy."

"How can you be so sure?" Snape whispered. Lucius had been absent for most of the boy's life, and Snape had taken to acting as the father figure in his life. Draco had become like a son to him, and he had no idea what he would do if something happened to either Draco, or Narcissa for that matter.

He cared for Narcissa. Not in the way he loved Lily, but as an older sister. And if she got killed in the crossfire, then he probably would never forgive himself.

"Because I know Harry. I know that by now he views the boy as a prominent ally, and that he would do anything in his power to make sure that nothing happens to the boy. And if I am not mistaken, then I am sure that Miss. Granger also feels a similar sentiment for the boy, however slightly more intimate. You of all people, are not immune to the knowledge of the lengths one goes to for love."

So he was not the only one who had noticed a connection between Draco and the girl. If nothing else, it was very interesting.

"I just hope that you are right," Snape said. Sensing that their meeting was over, he promptly left the room, while mentally replaying the events of the evening.

* * *

Hermione made her way up to the boys' dorm. She had just spent the evening with Draco under the pretenses of going over a Transfiguration assignment, when in actuality they were going over how to fix the cabinet. Yes, that plan was still very much on. All they knew was that the intended plan would continue as scheduled. Neither one bothered to question their Headmaster. As Dumbledore had promised, the two of them had become partners in more than one subject, thus allowing for the two of them to be in each other's presence without attracting too much unwanted attention.

Harry and Ron had made a show of being fiercely against the idea of the two of them having to work together, however in Ron's case, she wasn't quite sure that it was a complete act. Ron had been cold to Draco ever since he had first come to them and told them that he wished to act as a spy for them. It had been about three weeks since the attack on Diagon Alley, and even though Draco had proved his loyalty, Ron seemed to be bent on the idea that Draco was pure evil.

As she walked up the steps to their room, she heard muffled yelling. She approached the door quietly, and listened outside the door to hear what the fight was about.

"How can you trust him Harry? It's clear that he's a bloody Death Eater, and here you are, opening your arms to him as if you were inviting him to a picnic. You can't trust him!" she heard Ron yell out.

Hermione looked around. She was thankful that there was few people upstairs at this hour, and that the few that were up here, were out of earshot.

"Ron, he's proved himself! He could have led us to Diagon Alley as a trap, then ambush us. If he was a spy for them, don't you think I would probably dead by now?" Harry asked him calmly; it was a first for him to keep his temper against someone.

"But don't you find it a bit strange? Why in the name of Godric, would Voldemort want him to kill Dumbledore? No one could kill the man. So why would he give Malfoy such a task? It's obvious that Draco made it up, and now that everyone bloody loves him, he's got access to all of our secrets. He's exactly where he needs to be to pass back important information."

"For Merlin's sake, Ron; why can't you just accept that the boy isn't evil? Even 'Mione trusts him," Harry asked him exasperatedly.

"Well it's obvious that she trusts him, innit? I mean with Malfoy laying on his smooth moves upon her, she's practically melted into his lap. Honestly, it's a miracle that we aren't all dead by now. Seriously, first back in fourth year she gets all cosy with Krum, and now Malfoy? It's as if she specifically picks guys that she shouldn't trust."

Harry was speechless to this, and Hermione knew the feeling. She was half temped to run away from the room, and then pretend that she never heard any of the things that he had said. But she had run away from the pain that Ron had caused far too many times, and this time she would face him. She took in a deep breath as she pushed open the door.

Harry looked surprised to see her, "Hermione! We were just er- talking about what to do next," he said, trying to cover up for the Ginger beside him. Ron's face had turned a shade of red, but it wasn't a colour of embarrassment.

"Save it, Harry. I know that you're trying to spare my feelings, but I heard everything that he said," she said coldly. However, her anger was not directed towards Harry. She knew that the boy was only trying to protect her from more pain caused by Ron.

"Then you should know that I meant every single thing that I said," Ron said, meeting her eyes, with an equally cold glare.

"Well then, it's good to know that my so called friend has so much faith in my ability to judge a person's character!" Hermione said in a bitter tone.

"It's bloody hard to believe you when you're practically drooling over him!" Ron shouted out at her. It caught her by surprise, though she wasn't really sure why. The two of them often bickered, and it was rare if they were actually getting along.

"I do not drool over him! And I don't know what it is that you have against him. He's changed. Draco's-" she started to rant, before he cut her off.

"Oh so it's Draco now? How long did it take Hermione, for you to become his little bitch?" he asked her.

She was appalled. She had never heard him use such a foul tone with her before. She blinked, before carefully replying in a steady tone, "Go to hell, Ronald," before stomping out of the room.

She didn't wait to hear anymore, but if she had, then she would have heard Harry yelling at the boy, before finally calming down and asking, "Ron, are you sure that you don't still have feelings for her?"

And if she had, then she might have seen the boy look down shamefully, before fruitfully responding with a, "I don't know, Harry."

* * *

Hermione sat in a corner of her abandoned classroom. It was the exact same spot that she had been sitting a few months earlier, the last time she had been crying over Ron. She couldn't believe the audacity of the boy, to actually question that she would go ahead and spill every single secret she had to Draco. Sure, she thought that he was unbelievably attractive. But it was no more than every other girl in the school thought. It was an unspoken rule, that every girl had a partial crush on the boy.

She was in her third year, when she had first begun to notice her attraction to the boy. It had terrified her at first but from the gossip she had heard in the girls' bathroom, she had learned that a considerable amount of the female population had a crush on the Blonde.

One night, she had been talking to Ginny Weasley in her dorm. Both Lavender and Parvati were busy on dates with some boy that they probably hadn't spoken to since that night. That gave the two girls a chance to bond over things, and inevitably boys.

Hermione Granger didn't have much close friends. Sure, most people viewed her as friendly and approachable. And she was definitely liked by almost everyone. But there were still few people that she viewed to be anywhere near a friend. On top of that, she had virtually no friends of the female gender. That is, until she met Ginny.

She had always known the girl to be Ron's little sister, but for her first two years at Hogwarts, that's all the girl had been to her. But somewhere in their third year, between all the fights she had with both of the boys, she had found Ginny. The girl had laughed at the stupidity of her brother and her long time crush. Ginny had become close to Hermione, and for once in her life, she had someone that she could bond over about things that she could never talk to either Ron or Harry about.

It was Ginny who she had first confessed her sin to. She told the girl that she felt so stupid for crushing on the boy who thought of her as trash. It wasn't as if she liked him; it was more like she was severely attracted to him.

Ginny had smiled at her, and told her that it was completely normal, and that she was doing nothing wrong. Together, the girls brought each other out of the shells that they had lived in their entire lives. Ginny slowly got over being shy around Harry and blushing every time he so much as looked at her, and Hermione had gotten over her fears that if Harry and Ron hated her, then she would be forever alone.

And while her fights with Harry had ceased, the ones with Ron never seemed to disappear.

She clutched her legs close to her chest, and she closed her eyes and allowed Ron's words to truly sink into her brain.

"Hermione?" she heard a voice call out from above her. She opened her eyes, and saw Harry sinking down to sit beside her on the cold stone floor of the dimly lit classroom.

"Hi Harry," she said, her voice croaking slightly.

"I'm sorry for him, 'Mione. I know no idea why he feels the need to spew out whatever he thinks. But if it's any consolation, I know that you would never reveal things to anyone that I didn't want you to," he said softly.

She looked at him fearfully, "But how can you know that?" she asked him. "What if I am too trusting and I tell him everything. And what if he goes and tells Voldemort, and I am the reason for your death?"

He looked in her eyes, with a steady expression, before replying, "We both know that Draco can be trusted. And we both know that you would never place all of your eggs in one basket, Hermione. So what is this really about?" he asked her carefully.

"No judging?" she asked the boy with the circular glasses.

"Never," he said with a smile. However, Hermione knew that what she was about to tell him would wipe that smile right off of his face.

"I think that I might have feelings for him," she said softly. She looked down. She didn't want to see his look of disgust and disapproval. She already felt so bad about liking him.

"I thought so," he said, much to Hermione's surprise. She looked up, puzzled, and saw an accepting expression plastered on his face.

"You're okay with it?" she asked him, disbelievingly. "He's been nothing but unpleasant to you, and you're fine with the fact that I like him?"

"You said it yourself, he's changed. And I know that I've never been that forgiving in the past, but I think that it's time for a change, now don't you?" he asked her, as he placed an arm around her shoulders.

She leaned into comforting embrace. "Ron hates me doesn't he?" she asked him, rhetorically, but he responded anyway.

"I think that he's just confused," he said. Seeing that she wasn't quite following, he elaborated. "Like you've liked him, he's liked you as well. But both of you have slowly been moving on from each other. And the two of you never acted upon your feelings. So he's unsure of whether the two of you might have had a chance if you gave it a shot. He knows that it wouldn't have worked, but now he senses that you have feelings for someone else, and there's a tiny piece of him still clinging on to the hope that you too will end up together," he told her knowingly.

She sighed, "I just wish it wasn't that complicated."

He squeezed her tighter, before responding, "We all do 'Mione."

* * *

**A/N:** Hey Everybody! I know I usually update on Sundays, but I'm not going to be at home tomorrow, so I decided to write today. Seriously guys, thank you so much for following me so far on my story. It's been great to receive all of your comments on my story. For those of you that have left constructive criticism: thank you. I appreciate anything that allows me to become better as a writer. I have a few ideas outlined for what is going to happen in this story. I know how I want it to end, and hopefully I can deliver my ideas in a way that meets what I have in mind for this story.


	16. Leaving it Behind

**Chapter 16**

Draco sighed as he walked down an abandoned corridor. It was a late Tuesday night, and if he were caught out of bed then he would probably gain a combination of losing points and gaining detention depending on who found him. Of course, he could always claim that he was doing prefect duties, for it had worked many times in the past. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to lie to whoever may find him. Draco supposed that it was the goody-two-shoes nature that was rubbing off on him from all the times that he spent with Granger.

He noticed that he was beginning to change slowly. In the past, he would only try to do well in school to impress his father. However lately it seemed that he stopped trying to do it for his father, but more for himself. He had stopped hexing random students when he was in a bad mood, but began to find other sources to take out his anger. He mainly pushed most of that energy to find a way to fix the Cabinet; a feat that was becoming slightly easier now that Granger was also helping him do so.

He had no idea what Dumbledore's plan was. He was only told that the two of them would fix the Vanishing Cabinet and continue with the original play. The Headmaster told him that they would work out the tiny details once it got closer to the right time; but Draco was certain that he already had a specific plan in place. If there was one thing he knew about Dumbledore, was that even though he is completely mad, he is also brilliant.

Draco's head was still spinning with the events of the last several months. At times he couldn't believe that he had left everything that he knew behind, for this life that he knew nothing of. He would be losing everything by joining the Order, including his family and fortune. It didn't bother him so much to be losing the money, but it was the lifestyle that he felt unsure of. All his life he had grown up with a vast amount of wealth, able to buy anything and everything that he wanted. But now he had no idea what would happen to him. Would he go back to live with his parents, pretending that his mission was a success, while secretly feedback information to the Order? Or would the mission 'fail', and force him to go on the run? Would he then pretend to be dead, or would he be a known traitor? All of these questions plagued his mind late at night and inhibited from sleep. He wanted to voice his concerns to Granger, but he knew that she was just as in the dark as he.

Draco was still filled with shock over the acts that he had committed out of desperation to succeed. He had used one of the Unforgivable Curses on Madam Rosemerta, and almost killed the Bell girl and Weasley on separate occasions. Of course, he had lifted the curse on the barmaid once he changed sides, but he was forced to Obliviate her mind, so she wouldn't remember what he had done. He couldn't allow for his position to be compromised, even if he no longer supported the side.

He clenched his eyes shut momentarily as he thought about the acts of murder he had almost committed. Sure, he hated Weasley. Not because he was poor, or because of his family (as he often had claimed in the past), but because he had an awful way of treating those around him. He took his friends for granted, and often raised huge conflicts out of something that was so miniscule. He also hated the amount of times that he had made Granger cry. But despite all of that, he couldn't bring himself to want the boy to be dead.

He remembered a conversation between his mother and father one late night. He had just been branded, and had received his first task; to kill Dumbledore.

His mother had been filled with tears once she found out. Even though her sister and husband were Death Eaters, Narcissa Malfoy had never officially become one herself. She used the excuse that she needed to raise her son the right way, and everyone had bought that. She had later confided in him that it was because she never wanted this life, nor what it meant for her family. Once she found out that her only son was to become a Death Eater, she had, in private, broken down into sobs.

"_You are not a killer, Draco," she cried as she embraced in her arms. She often would do so when he was a child, but had not done it since. He could tell that she was worried. Hell, so was he. But he also knew what would happen if he had failed his task. Voldemort had been more than clear about what would happen then to everyone and everything that he loved._

_He closed his eyes, "Mother, I have to! You don't understand what he'll do to you; what he'll do to all of us, if I fail!"_

_She had looked into his eyes, with a haunting expression. "Draco, I want you to promise me that you won't turn into your father. I want you to be your own person. And if this path is what you want, then I will support you, but if it isn't, then please do anything to get out of this life."_

Her words had puzzled him for the longest time. While he had known that his mother wasn't as keen on the Pureblood ideals as the rest of her family, he had often thought that she just didn't voice her opinions as much. She never spoke out against his father when he started ranting about how mudbloods were polluting their world. But he never questioned it. His mother was a gentle soul, and that was all there was to it.

She wanted him out of this life, and so did he. So that's what he did. He found a way out, and he took it. He only hoped that he would be able to find a way to get her out as well.

Draco walked around the corner, but had forgotten to check to see if there was anyone on the other side. As he made his way around the bend, he walked straight into the prefect who was patrolling the area: Granger.

"Draco," she exclaimed, sounding surprised to see him. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I, well, was, I, uh-" he stuttered. He hadn't planned on seeing her. And even if he tried to use his excuse of patrolling, he knew that she would see straight through his lie. "I was taking a walk. I needed to clear my head, you know?" he told her, deciding it was simply best to tell the truth.

She nodded understandingly, "Do you want some company?" she asked him, with a slight smile on her face.

His eyes widened, "What, you're not going to give me a punishment for being out of bed?" he asked, slightly startled that she was acting as if he weren't breaking school rules.

"I'm not that strict about rules, am I?" she asked. As he raised an eyebrow at her, she laughed before replying, "Okay, maybe I am. But a punishment is meant to fit the crime. And while you are out of bed, I understand that you need to think. This year hasn't exactly been easy for you. Just don't tell anyone I said that, or they'll think that I'll let them get away with anything," she said with a laugh once more.

He could honestly swear at that moment, that her laugh was once of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. It wasn't like Pansy's laugh, which held a shrill tone to it, or Theo's laugh, which was rough sounding. No, hers was soft and delicate, yet it still sounded almost musical.

"Thanks Granger," he said earnestly. He felt relieved that she not only wasn't about to punish him, but understood his current predicament.

She squeezed his hand softly, and allowed for her hand to linger over his for a moment longer than normal. It wasn't much, but he still felt his heart soar at the contact.

Hermione must have been able to tell that he wanted to have a distraction from his problems. As the two of them resumed walking, she spoke up and said, "Sometimes, I wonder what my life would have been like if I never found out that I am a witch," she said. Her gaze had a slightly distant expression about them.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Wouldn't your life be worse off then? Not that I have anything against muggles, but would the life you could have had been better than the one that you have now?"

She seemed to struggle to answer the question; however she finally responded with, "I'm not sure. I didn't exactly fit in with them. I always knew that I was different, but I never knew what it was. To some extent, I always knew that I had magic, but a part of me wouldn't believe. I believed in logic; what I could see or what I knew was normal. And I definitely wasn't normal.

"If I never came here, then maybe I wouldn't have had to grow up so quickly. Maybe I wouldn't be in danger just because of my blood. But then, I could always have been one of those muggles who got murdered simply because the Death Eaters wanted to have some fun. But then I think of everything I have now. I have gained a second family with the Weasleys, and a brother in Harry. It's all a part of me now; the magic, the family, the memories, and I don't think that I could ever live without it anymore," she said in a distant tone.

He took in her answer, as he watched her expression. She belonged in this world. Granger was the top of their year, no matter how much it annoyed him, and her skills with magic exceeded those of any student he had ever seen, both older and younger. She deserved to be at this school, regardless of her blood status.

"Well Granger, if it makes you feel any better, I'm glad that you're here. You might have had a chance of being 'normal' if you never found out, but now that you've discovered this person that you are, you should embrace it. Potter and Weasley are lucky to have you by their sides, and saving them from failing miserably out of school," he said honestly.

She smiled at him, like really smiled at him. It was still a new sight to him and it caught him off guard. After getting over his surprise, he did something unexpected; he smiled back.

The two of them continued to walk around the school on her rounds. After they were done, he walked her up to the Gryffindor tower, before making his way down to the dungeons. It was nice that it was after hours; that way the two of them didn't have to worry about being spotted by any other students and having rumours spread about the two of them. When it was just the two of them, Draco found that he could be the person that he wanted to be, instead of the person which he was expected to be.

* * *

Theo sat on his bed, holding a letter between two shaking hands. The thing that he had dreaded the most had finally happened. He had received his letter of initiation from Lord Voldemort.

He had tried to push it off to the end of the year. Theo had reasoned with his father that it was useless for him to join up without an education, and the Dark Lord had accepted that before. But apparently He had changed his mind. Voldemort had decided that he wanted to initiate Theo, but keep him in school for the next two years. He was given the task of quietly recruiting the younger students of Hogwarts.

It was nothing compared to the task that Draco was given, but for that he was glad. Theo didn't want to have to go around and murder people; he hated that sort of thing. Yes, Theo believed completely in Pureblood Supremacy, but he hated how Voldemort was going about trying to do so.

Oh sweet Merlin, what was he going to do? He didn't want this; he didn't want to be a Death Eater. He threw the letter to the side of the bed and buried his head between his both of his hands. Engulfed in this state, he did not hear Blaise come into their dorm.

"Theo?" the Italian boy asked in an unsure voice. "Are you alright? Has something happened?"

Without uttering a single word, Theo gestured toward the sheet of paper on the bed beside where he was sitting.

He watched as his friend scanned the contents of the letter before looking up at him. His face was filled with dread and pain.

"Oh Theo," the boy said. "What are we going to do about this?"

Theo looked up at him at the word 'we'. It surprised him, as Slytherins were characteristically known for their lack of sympathy towards others. They were cunning, and would use others' misfortunes for their own personal gain. But then, Blaise was no ordinary Slytherin.

"I don't know," Theo said, sounding absolutely miserable. "I can't do this, Blaise. I'm not cut out for this sort of lifestyle."

Blaise sat down beside him on the bed. "What if you talk to Draco? Maybe he could help you out. He's apparently in good books with the Death Eaters after the Diagon Alley situation, so maybe he will be able to talk Voldemort out of using you yet," Blaise tried.

Theo shook his head, "Draco has more than enough problems at the moment. Besides, the Dark Lord already views us Notts to be inferior purebloods. If I add to that, then I am only contributing to his theory. And in the end, it will only end up being worse for me."

Blaise tried again, "Well maybe Draco could help you with some of the recruitment?"

Theo sighed, "That's just the thing. I think Draco is starting to take to this whole Death Eater thing. And if he finds out that I am opposed to it, then what if he tells Voldemort that I am unloyal?"

Blaise frowned, "Draco wouldn't do that. He's loyal to his friends. He wouldn't sell you out. Don't you remember how opposed he was to this whole thing too? Maybe he found a way out."

"I remember, but then the Diagon Alley thing happened. And he refuses to talk about it, so we have no way of knowing what actually happened during the fight. For all we know, he enjoyed it, and lost all his uncertainty towards the cause.

Blaise still looked unsure, but seemed to accept what Theo had to say. "I can't tell Draco that I need to get out. Please, promise me that you won't tell him either," Theo said, after pondering his thoughts further.

Blaise looked like he wanted to argue back, but to the immense relief of Theo, he didn't. "Alright, but if you change your mind, then tell me. But for now, we need to figure out what you're going to do about the recruitments."

Theo sighed, "I want out Blaise. I don't think that I'll ever want to be a part of his ranks. And if that means that I have to go on the run now, then so be it."

"You're not going to finish your studies?" Blaise asked, sounding completely stunned with his friend's declaration.

"What choice do I have? If I stay here and don't go by what Voldemort wants me to do, then he will have me killed. It's the only chance that I stand."

Blaise clenched his eyes shut. "And you can't go to Dumbledore for help?" he asked.

"Why would Dumbledore want to help me? I have absolutely nothing to offer. Sure, he could help me for a while, but what happens if Draco succeeds and the old man dies? After that, I will probably be on my own anyways. So isn't it easier to just go on the run now?"

Blaise was unhappy with the solution. "I don't like it Theo. They may be able to help you. And you don't know if Draco will succeed. He's Dumbledore, for Merlin's sake. He's not going to be easy to kill. For all we know, if Draco does go through with it, then he could be the one who dies. But if you want to leave, and you feel that it is the only option, then I'll help you."

Theo smiled, "Thank you, Blaise. I'll have to leave soon. There really is no use in me prolonging my stay here. There's nothing more for me to get from of this school anyway."

"Where will you go?"

The question was simple enough, but it still left Theo feeling unsure of the answer. He supposed he could always go and stay at one of his family's smaller estates. He could take a house elf with him (one his family wouldn't miss), and make no contact with the rest of the world. In a perfect world, it would be a plan with no complications. But Merlin knew wouldn't simply be that easy. There were going to be obstacles, but he was going to have to try. It was either this, or death.

Upon telling Blaise his plans, he noticed that the boy looked hesitant. He didn't blame Blaise for thinking of all the possible risks involved with the plan. The boy was brilliant; the third in their year. He knew that the school would be confused about his disappearance, and that both Draco and Blaise were probably going to be questioned about his whereabouts. But at this moment, he couldn't afford to think of those things.

"So what do you need to pack?"


	17. Planning For the Attack

**Chapter 17**

Draco had woken up that Sunday morning knowing that something was very, very wrong. Usually, if he did not see Theo in bed, it was because Theo was out with some girl fooling around. But without fail, he always made it back to sleep in his own bed. So when Draco found the boy absent from the dorm room, he immediately began to think of the very worst scenarios possible.

He remembered walking over to Blaise and shaking him awake. His Italian roommate had been startled to the extent which almost caused him to fall out of his own bed.

"What the Hell, Draco. What are you doing? Why are you waking me up at so early in the morning? Can't anyone enjoy some sleep in peace?" were the first words out of the boy's mouth. Draco remembered not even being angry and the fact that his friend attempted to push him off of the bed instead.

"Theo's missing," Draco said in a wavering tone. "He didn't return last night, and I have no idea where he is. It could be serious, Blaise."

Blaise rolled his eyes, and had clearly not shared the same sentiments as himself. He instead, made himself comfier in his bed before casually replying, "He's probably out with a girl somewhere or probably just lost track of the time. Either way, you're worrying for no reason Draco, now go back to bed."

Draco had been unconvinced. What where the chances that Theodore would stay out for the entire night? But Draco remembered taking the chance and praying secretly that nothing was amiss. But he couldn't have been more wrong.

Two days later, the both of them were called out of Transfiguration class and asked to report directly to the Headmaster's office. Hermione had given him a worried look as he packed up his bag and walked out. It was subtle enough for an onlooker to miss, but enough that he could take notice of it. He had confided his worries in her, and she had responded saying that they would only know what had happened in time.

He remembered walking to the office in pure silence; neither one of them uttering a single word. Blaise however, did not look worried. He had gained the sense that Blaise had some idea what happened to Theo. The two of them were closer friends than Draco was with either of them. But Blaise seemed unwilling to tell him of anything. So maybe he indeed had no idea. However, he knew that it was a rare chance.

Draco recited the name of the current sugar fascination of their Headmaster, and the door clicked open. The two boys made their way into the office. It was nothing new for Draco, as he had been there several times in the past. But Blaise had never been there, so the boy curiously looked over the room which possessed many qualities shown in Dumbledore.

Dumbledore sat in the far end of the room, at his desk. He gestured to the two boys, who made their way over to where he was seated. As the boys sat across from the Headmaster, he offered the two of them tea to which they both declined. How could anyone possibly be thinking of tea? If they were in the Dumbledore's office, then clearly the man had his own worries about what had happed to Theo.

"Now, I am sure you know why I have called you here," Dumbledore said. "It has come to my attention that Theodore Nott has gone missing from the school. As his closest friends, I am hoping that one, if not both, of you could provide me with information as to what has happened to him.

Draco shook his head. "I have no idea what happened to him Professor," he said, trying to sound vague. The last thing he needed was for Blaise to suspect that Draco had become a turncoat. Sure, the boy did not care about the politics, but it wasn't safe for others to know.

Dumbledore looked slightly disappointed, "I see," he said. "And do you know what has happened to Mr. Nott, Mr. Zabini?"

Blaise shook his head slightly, "No, Headmaster," he said quietly.

"And when was the last time that either of you have seen him?" Dumbledore prodded the two boys.

Draco thought back, "During dinner. He was at the table, however I left before him."

Blaise looked as if he were struggling to come up with an answer. "I saw him just before bed. He said that he wanted to go out for a walk before curfew. I fell asleep before his return. It was only in the morning once Draco noticed he wasn't there that I even realised."

Draco noted that the boy had a lot of theatrics in his voice. It was hard not to recognize something like that after living with him for six years. He was curious as to why Blaise was acting like that; unless he had something to hide.

He narrowed his eyes at the boy beside him. Why was Blaise keeping secrets from him? Didn't the three of them tell each other everything? Well, not everything. But he had trusted them enough to tell him his task, so why hadn't the two of them trusted him enough to let him know if something was up? He understood if Blaise hadn't wanted Dumbledore to know about Theo's plans, but why was Draco being excluded as well? He didn't understand it.

Luckily for Blaise, Dumbledore had not managed to notice the tension or the lying in the atmosphere.

"And he left no note?" Dumbledore pressed further.

"No, Headmaster. If he had, I would have turned it over to you," Blaise said so solemnly that Draco almost believed the boy for a moment.

The headmaster nodded at the boys, and they immediately knew that they were dismissed. Once they were far enough away from the office, Draco turned to Blaise.

"What was that about?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Blaise feigned innocence, "What are you talking about Draco?" he asked, pretending to be oblivious.

"You know exactly what I am talking about. Merlin, Blaise, after all this time I would have thought that you would be able to tell me the truth. I thought that we told each other everything Blaise! So why are you lying to me? You know exactly where Theo is, yet you won't tell me."

"So we tell each other everything? Like you told us what happened in Diagon Alley? Yeah that's right. You keep your secrets, I keep mine. You know if you changed you mind and have decided that you enjoy working with Voldemort, and then I would be okay with it. We're friends Draco. I thought we told each other things," Blaise fired back.

Draco remained silent at that. The situation he was in wasn't one that was easy to explain. He had no idea what his friend would think if he had known the truth of the entire situation.

"Yeah, I thought so," Blaise said bitterly. He turned to walk away.

At that moment, Draco wished more than anything to be able to call out to his friend. He wanted to tell Blaise the truth, the whole truth. He wanted to tell him everything that had lead up to his decision and everything that had happened since. He wanted to tell him about his feelings for Hermione and ask him about what he should do next. But that wasn't possible at the moment. Maybe one day he could beg for his friend's forgiveness, but until that day, he would just have to leave Blaise in the dark about everything that had transpired lately.

So instead, he watched his childhood friend walk away from him.

* * *

Draco found himself in the Dumbledore's office for the second time that day. This time however, he was accompanied by the Golden Trio.

The four of them were seated and looking up expectantly at their Headmaster for an explanation for their presence.

"I'm sure you are wondering why it is that I have called you here. For the last several months I have been telling you that I would discuss my plans for Draco and what should happen at a later time. I have wished that I could prolong it for a while longer; however I fear we do not have that option anymore. So today, I will reveal my plans to you.

"Draco, I want you to let the Death Eaters into the school," Dumbledore said. The four of them began to protest heavily, however Dumbledore silenced them by raising his hand. "It is the only way that we can prove your loyalty for now."

Draco was beyond angry. "You do know that if I let them into the school, then they will want to witness me killing you. Was that the plan all along; to get me to kill you despite the fact that I don't want to, simply to secure my spot as a spy?"

"Of course not; I simply wish for them to think you have succeeded and have managed to let them into the school," Dumbledore said.

"And what will happen then?" Potter asked. "They will expect Malfoy to kill you, Sir. And if he 'fails' he will be killed. If he succeeds then you are dead. I don't see any way that we can win this."

"I will duel him if need be," Dumbledore said simply. "However it does not matter what the outcome is. Either way, we are going to let them think that you died on this mission. This way, if they ever find you, we can tell them that Order kept you hostage to find out about the Death Eater's plans. They will not view you as a traitor."

Draco nodded. It would kill his mother to think that he had been killed, but what other choice did he have?"

"And what will happen to me after all of this?" Draco questioned.

"You will go to the headquarters of the Order. I daresay you wish to remain in hiding. So there you may provide assistance to the Order. You will not be allowed to leave unless you have a guise on."

"But Sir with all due respect, what will happen to all the innocent children in the school?" Hermione said immediately after Dumbledore had stopped talking. Draco watched the way her face filled with passion and worry.

"They will be safe in their respectable houses. I will alert the Prefects to not be on duty that night, and in their place I will ask the teachers to guard the hallways."

"And where exactly will you be during all of this? They won't believe that you simply are at the school and do not know of their presence at the school," Weasley asked.

Draco watched as Hermione gave the ginger haired boy a surprised look. Quite frankly, he was surprised that the Weasel could have a semi-clever thought, even on rare occasion. He had noticed that she had been going out of her way not to make any eye contact with him since she had entered the room. Perhaps they had another fight.

"I won't be at the school for the beginning of the attack," Dumbledore said simply.

"What does that mean?" Potter demanded to know. Merlin, that boy could act like such a child at times. But at this moment, he found himself sympathising with the boy. Draco was frustrated with the vagueness of all the answers Dumbledore was giving them. Would it kill the old man to simply tell him everything he had planned out?

"It means that I am going to be away from the school Harry. In fact, we both are. I think I have found the location of another Horcrux, but I cannot be completely sure. Not until you have procured the memory," Dumbledore said with a pointed look.

Potter flushed at the mention of the memory. Draco wondered what exactly he was supposed to do. It probably had something to do with the secret meetings that the two of them often had.

"I'm working on it sir, but as you know Professor Slughorn is not exactly forthcoming with information."

"I am aware Harry. But I had hoped that you would have a bit extra luck than I have had with him," Dumbledore said, disappointed as Harry focused his vision on the desk in front of him. Draco noted that he had placed a slight emphasize on the word luck.

"And when is this to occur?" Hermione questioned their Headmaster.

"On Wednesday of this week," Dumbledore said. Draco could not help but note a twinge of sadness in his voiced. What was that about?

"Isn't that a bit too soon? What about all the planning needed for this task? And what about making sure everyone is ready? Does the Order know that it's happening then? Are they prepared? Have we asked enough of them to whether they will be available then?" Hermione babbled on nervously.

Draco couldn't help but feel warmth spread through him. She was incredibly beautiful when she got anxious. Her cheeks would gain a slight blush to them and her eyes would gain a certain look of nervousness.

"I'm afraid that there simply is no point in putting it off Miss. Granger. The school year is drawing to a close, thus ending our chances of being able to pull off this task. In addition to that, we have also been able get the entire force of the Order here that night, in addition to several Aurors," Dumbledore said soothingly.

Hermione nodded grasping the new information she had received.

"That will be all for today then, you four. If you have any additional questions, then please come by," Dumbledore said, dismissing them.

Draco made his way out of there quickly. While he would have enjoyed spending more time with Hermione, he felt he needed to talk to Blaise one last time.

* * *

After Draco had left the room, Hermione quickly followed suit. The last thing she wanted was to have to be in the presence of Ron any more than possible.

"Hermione, wait," Ron called out from behind her. She sped up her pace to prevent herself from having to talk to him.

"Hermione, please; I need to talk to you," Ron called out.

She groaned. She knew that it would in no way be over until she talked to him. She stopped and turned to face him.

"What is it, Ronald? Have you come back to call me more crude names? Or have you decided to jump to even more assumptions?" she asked him angrily.

"I need to apologise to you," he said sheepishly. "So, I'm sorry."

"What, so you think with just that it will be alright? You are so presumptuous," she fumed.

"But I apologised, that should be more than enough, shouldn't it? Tell her that she is being dramatic Harry," Ron whined.

"I'm sorry Ron, but I cannot do that. Hermione deserves better than that. And you apology was awful. Honestly, it's a miracle that she is still standing here right now and listening to all of this," Harry said, shaking his head.

"But Hermione, you must know that I didn't mean any of it! I was angry, and the words just slipped out."

"When are you going to learn that you cannot take out your anger on me just because you are angry? I had done nothing wrong, and even if I was involved with Draco, then it's my choice. You are perfectly happy with Lavender, so why can't I be happy with my life? We are not together Ron. Maybe it might have been a possibility at one stage, but we have long moved past that," Hermione said, her voice wavering slightly.

"I want to, I really do. But it's hard seeing you with him. Out of all the people, why did it have to be him? He's made our lives miserable from the moment we first met him, and I have yet to see any serious changes in his behaviour," Ron said furiously.

Before anything more could be said, Harry quickly cast a silencing charm around them. Hermione mentally smiled that he was taking measures in case something were to be said between his two friends.

"What do you mean you have yet to see any changes? He's joined our ranks, and is helping us bring down Voldemort. He hasn't once called me a mudblood since he accepted the offer to join our side. He hasn't even said anything spiteful towards Harry. He's changed, and if you can't see that, then you really are blind Ronald," Hermione steamed.

Harry spoke before Ron could say anything more, "Ron, you are my friend and Merlin knows that I have taken your side on far too many occasions. But this time I have to tell you that you're wrong. Merlin knows I have more than enough reasons to hate Malfoy, and if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes then I wouldn't even believe it myself. But we need to trust Malfoy and treat him with the respect that he is owed. Besides, if something were to happen between Hermione and Draco, then we do not have any say in the matter. The only thing that is important is her happiness," Harry finished wisely.

Hermione was shocked by the level of maturity that Harry was showing in all of this.

"Thanks Harry," she said softly. He smiled at her, and squeezed her shoulder.

Ron huffed. "Fine, but I don't like this. Hermione, do what you want with the bloke, but if he hurts you in any way, then don't say that I didn't try to tell you this," Ron warned.

Hermione nodded, "That's really all I can ask from you. But thank you Ron, for trying to see my point of view, even if you don't believe in it yourself."

* * *

**A/N: **Hello my lovely readers. I would like to thank you once more for following and reviewing on my story. I love to read your wonderful comments and read what you have to say about it.


	18. The Astronomy Tower

**Chapter 18**

Draco paced anxiously. Today was the day that he was supposed to let in the Death Eaters to attack the school. The plan was relatively simple; as soon as Potter and Dumbledore left the castle on their mission, Hermione would come and tell him. Then he would activate the Vanishing Cabinet and let in the Death Eaters.

If all went according to plan, they would be stopped as soon as they made it up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower, a 'trap' he was going to lay for Dumbledore. Then, when attempting to confront Dumbledore, he was to also be 'executed' by one of the Light members, thus allowing him a way out of being Voldemort's pawn. The rest of the Death Eaters would try to scurry away, but The Order would capture as many of them as possible. Seemed pretty easy, right?

Yet in spite of knowing they had planned out every possible situation, Draco was worried. What would happen if something else occurred? There would no doubt be some serious injuries tonight, if there not deaths. And what if a student happened to be out of bed by some chance? It was impossible to predict the casualties.

Breaking out of his trance, he saw that he had made it to the other side of the room. He shook his head, and sat down on a nearby couch.

As he waited he thought about his last conversation with Blaise. He had tried to explain, but Blaise wouldn't hear of it. It probably was for the best, seeing how complicated it could be to try and begin explaining everything that had happened. So that night when he left his dorm room, he made sure to glance back at where Blaise was seated. For all he knew, it could be the last time he ever saw his childhood friend.

Several more long excruciating moments had passed before Hermione had entered the room. He instantly stood up to greet her.

"Is it time?" he asked in a somber voice. He could see that she was also worrying about what would happen.

She nodded, "Harry just left. But before he did, he asked me to take some of this and give it to the members of Dumbledore's army," she said pausing. She held up a vile which he instantly recognized to be the Felix Felicis. Most of the liquid had already been consumed, so he assumed the remaining bits were for him. "I know that you aren't a member of the army, but you deserve to have a bit of luck on your side tonight, just in case."

He looked up, processing her statement, "You, you're going to be fighting?" he asked, trying to veil his shock.

"I have to. I'm as much a part of this as the rest of you. And I know that there's no way that the rest of them will sit back either," she said as she handed him the vile.

He swallowed it in a single gulp. "Hermione, what if something happens to you tonight? It would be so much safer for you to wait in the Gryffindor Common Room instead of being here." But he knew that it was a losing battle. There was no way anyone could ever talk Hermione Granger out of doing something once she had her mind made up.

She chose to ignore his statement. "There are teachers waiting directly outside of the classroom. Hopefully we can take down as many as we can before you reach the Astronomy Tower. There are also other teachers waiting in other corridors along the way."

He nodded as she made her way out of the room. "Granger," he called out to her. She turned back to look at him expectantly. "Good luck tonight," he said, hoping that it wouldn't be the last time he ever spoke to her.

She smiled at him, before leaving the room. Draco turned toward the cabinet, knowing fully that it was time to let in the Death Eaters.

He placed an apple in the portal and sent it off to Borgins and Burkes. It had become the way Draco would communicate with the owner of the store. The first time he placed it in the Cabinet, the apple had ended up only slightly better than the bird. But once it had successfully vanished, upon summoning it back, he saw that it had a bite taken out of it in the shape of the Dark Mark. It had made him sick to see it, but he knew that he had to keep up the pretense.

Draco waited for the Death Eaters to come through the portal. A few seconds later, his aunt stepped out, crouching her head so she didn't hit it.

"Draco," she said with a toothy smile. Her teeth were as crooked and blackened as always. He shuddered internally, as he let his aunt embrace him. "You've done so well, Draco," she said beaming. "The Dark Lord will be so pleased with out after this is all over."

'You would like that, wouldn't you?' Draco thought. 'Anything that puts you in a better place with that Lord of yours."

However, he smiled at his aunt. It would do no good to set her off. "I've missed you Aunt Bella. You look just as lovely as always."

As he finished his faux compliment, he watched as several other Death Eaters made their way out of the portal. It started off with the Carrows, and then there was Yaxley, Nott Sr., and Rodoluphus and Rabastan. However, he frowned when he saw Fenrir Greyback make his way out of the portal.

"I didn't invite you," he growled at the half-breed. The last thing he needed was for a werewolf in the school. Regardless of the fact that it wasn't the full moon, Greyback had a reputation amongst the Death Eaters of viciously ripping out the throats of his victims, despite the lunar cycle.

"Don't you want him to rip out the throats of the Mudbloods in this school, Draco? Let him purge the school of their dirty blood. If we are lucky, then maybe he will rip out Potter's personal pet Mudblood," His _aunt_ said, trying to convince him in a cooing tone.

Draco felt the rage pump through him. Draco mentally vowed that if that filthy man laid a single finger on her, then he would personally kill him in the most painful way possible.

Through gritted teeth he replied, "Whatever. As long as he doesn't screw up this mission, then I don't care what he does," Draco finished. Thankfully for him, no one had caught the shrewd tone that he spoke with.

The Death Eaters all turned to look at Draco expectantly. "So boy, what's the plan?" Yaxley asked him in a gruff voice.

Draco took a deep breath before telling them 'the plan'.

* * *

Hermione wrung her hands together nervously. It had been almost twenty minutes since she had left Draco alone in the room, and so far there had been nothing but pure silence. There had not been so much as a single student out of bed, or even the castle creaking at night. Hermione was glad for both, but for very different reasons.

She knew that he had been so worried when she had visited him. She could read him well, and when he had made that statement about wanting to keep her safe, she simply couldn't reply. It wasn't that she was trying to ignore him. But she felt that her throat had closed up, preventing her from answering. She knew that if she stayed in the room for any longer, she probably would end up crying. She was so worried that something would go wrong. What if Draco was caught? What if the Death Eaters found that it was all an elaborate plan so Draco would be able to vanish? And what if he was killed in the middle their ruse?

Hermione knew that there was no way that she would be able to live with herself if anything happened. Although she knew that she would not be to blame, Hermione often did blame herself for the mishaps of others.

She felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Hermione turned to see Ron standing there behind her, with a smile on his face.

"He'll be alright, you know," he said, as if to read her mind.

"How did you-" she began to ask her ginger haired friend. She noticed that in the dim lighting of the school that he had matured visibly over the last year. Not just physically, but also mentally. While he had a tendency to act like a child at times, there were other times were he also was one of the most mature people in the room.

"I've known you for six years now, Hermione. I know when something is bothering you, even if I still act like an immature prat at times. But Hermione, I want you to know that regardless of what happens tonight, that everything will turn out okay in the end."

She embraced him in a hug tightly, as she held on for dear life. She loved Ron. Both he and Harry were the siblings she never had. And she needed both of them with her.

Ron pulled away from her quickly as he looked down the hall.

"Did you hear that?" he asked her worriedly.

She tried to hear any sounds, but if there were anything, then it was faint.

"There!" he said again. This time, Hermione did hear it. She heard a scream of pain, and hexes fly back and forth.

Hermione and Ron raised their wands. Ron took her hand in his and squeezed it gently as they waited for the sea of Death Eaters to make their way over to them.

* * *

Harry and Dumbledore apparated back to Hogsmeade. Dumbledore was grasping tightly to Harry's arm, as the potion he had drunk in the cave had significantly weakened him. It scared Harry, to see the greatest wizard alive double over in pain. At that moment, the his many years weighed down on Dumbledore. Harry had never seen him in such a vulnerable position.

What would it mean for tonight? They needed everyone on the Light side to be as strong as possible to make sure no unwarranted consequences occurred. And while Dumbledore at his weakest was probably stronger than any other wizard/witch, it was a chance Harry couldn't take.

"We're almost back to the school professor, just a couple more moments," Harry said as he led his mentor the Three Broomsticks. The dark mark already circled the sky around the Astronomy Tower. Malfoy had set the trap, and they were about to walk straight into it. But they needed to get back to the school as quickly as possible. Merlin knew how many people had already been injured in the fight.

"Madam Rosemerta, I need you to open up!" Harry shouted as he banged on the door the pub. Less than a few seconds later, the door swung open.

"Harry? What are you doing out of school at this hour? And is that, is that Albus? What happened?" She asked in a bewildered tone.

"There's no time to explain. The Dark Mark has been cast over the school. We need to borrow two broomsticks so we can get back there," Harry rushed. She nodded and brought out two broomsticks.

The flight back to the school should have taken no less than 3.2 minutes top. But those minutes were some of the longest he had experienced in his entire life. It was as if they were flying in a sort of slow motion.

Once they had made it back to the tower, Harry and Dumbledore placed their broomsticks against the side of one of the walls.

"Harry, I want you to wear the Invisibility Cloak. And no matter what happens, I don't want you to remove it," Dumbledore urged as they waited for the Death Eaters to make their way up to them.

"But professor, that wasn't part of the plan," Harry exclaimed, startled.

"I know. But promise me this, Harry. You cannot take off that cloak, no matter what. Just promise me," Dumbledore pleaded with him.

Normally, the man would just demand something. He held the sort of authority that allowed him to do so, even though he very seldom took advantage of it. So when he pleaded Harry to do something, he had no choice but to oblige.

As he wrapped the cloak around his body, Malfoy stumbled into the room. His face was tattered with cuts and bruises from the fight. But for the most part, he looked alright.

"Someone's dead. I stepped on their body on the way up here," Malfoy said. He didn't sound jeering at the fact, yet a bit wounded at the thought of a lost life.

"I see. Well we must get on with the plan"

"Expelliarmus," Malfoy said, without any delay. They had planned for Dumbledore to be unarmed for their charade. But the wizard was brilliantly trained with wandless magic, so it was hardly the problem. However, with Dumbledore's current state, Harry couldn't help but be slightly worried.

Dumbledore's wand went flying, and simultaneously, Harry felt his body go rigid. Expelliarmus wasn't supposed to be an immobilizing spell though…

Malfoy seemed to notice a person missing from the room as he made a questioning glace towards Dumbledore when he couldn't find Harry in the room. But before Dumbledore could say anything, the rest of the Death Eaters made their way into the room.

Harry couldn't make out any of them, other than Fenrir Greyback. It worried Harry that a werewolf had come to the school.

"Dumbledore cornered!" a lumpy looking mad said with a leer. Harry felt the overwhelming urge to spit in the man's face.

"Good evening Amycus. And you've brought Alecto too … charming.." Dumbeldore said calmly, while implying that it was anything but.

"Well done, Draco," Bellatrix cooed in a disgusting tone. "Now, do what you've spent all these months for. Kill him, Draco. Kill Dumbledore," she said as she seemed to gain a pleasure out of saying those sick words.

Harry caught his breath. The rest of the Order was supposed to make their way up the stairs at any moment. They would overpower the Death Eaters and all would be well. What could be taking them so long?

* * *

Severus Snape made his way up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower. A few students had 'woken him up' to aid their cause. He didn't have the heart to tell them that he was about to murder their beloved Headmaster in cold blood. It wouldn't matter if he was doing so on Dumbledore's orders, seeing that no one would probably ever know.

The Potter boy would hate him. He wished he could tell the boy that he had done everything for him, to try and make it up to Lily. He had sacrificed everything for her, and even in her death, he continued to make these sacrifices.

He pushed open the door to the Astronomy Tower. There was Dumbledore, wandless and weak on one side (presumably with Potter beside him, cloaked), and with Draco and his 'allies' beside him on the other. Both side seemed to gain a sense of relief to see him.

"We've got a problem, Snape," Amycus said without taking his eyes off Dumbledore.

"Severus…" he heard a frail voice call out. Snape looked over alarmed, to see Dumbledore calling for him.

"Severus…Please," the old man begged.

What sounded as the words for mercy to most men was in fact the sound of the best wizard he ever had known begging for Snape to take his life. It was a sort of mercy, if you thought about it. Dumbledore wanted to control his death; he wanted to be put out of his pain before it grew to be unbearable. So in a way, Snape was granting him mercy when he spoke those fateful words.

"_Avada Kedavra"_

* * *

Draco watched in horror as his Headmaster fell. That was not supposed to happen! He couldn't bear to watch the time frozen expression of pain on Dumbledore's face. Draco always had known that his Godfather was acting as a double agent for Voldemort, but he never dreamed that he would also be Dumbledore's executioner.

"Out of here, quickly," Snape said in an emotionless tone. The bastard had just murdered the greatest wizard to ever live, and he couldn't even display a slight remorse? How could anyone be so cold and cruel?

At that moment, the Order of the Phoenix made their way up the stairs. He saw a stunned look upon their faces as they saw Dumbledore dead on the cold stone floor.

"You! You did this!" Weasley shouted as he started hexing Draco. He had been wearing a hex protectant charm that Hermione had taught him a few days prior, so none of the curses had any impact. But seeing that it was time for his 'death', he had to act believable. He wasn't quite sure if the boy was trying to cause him real harm.

Thankfully at that moment, Hermione decided to intervene. Draco couldn't even begin to put into words the happiness he felt at seeing her alive.

"Go," she shouted to the rest of the Order as the remaining Death Eaters attempted to escape from the room. Draco doubled over as Hermione sent off a curse that would 'kill him'.

"What about the boy?" Amycus asked as he followed Snape to the door.

"Leave him. He's as good as dead anyways," his Godfather said in a heartless tone. Draco couldn't help but cringe as he heard those words being uttered.

Draco lay on the ground 'dying', as he watched Potter pull off his invisibility cloak. He grabbed his wand and began to charge out of the room. Seeing that there were no Death Eaters left in the room, Draco spoke.

"Potter," he said in a clear tone. Potter looked over at him, surprised. "Go get the bastard." Draco said.

Potter nodded with an ashen face before he charged out of the room with full force. Draco knew that he had to stay in the room for a few more moments to secure his 'death'. It definitely wouldn't do if he was seen attacking Death Eaters like he so wanted to do.

So instead, he closed his eyes and waited for a sign that it was all clear.


	19. The Aftermath

**Disclaimer:** This chapter uses several lines from the HBP, those lines are the work of the brilliantly talented J.K. Rowling, and not myself. However, the story line for the most part, is mine.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Draco lay on a bed in the infirmary room. The Hospital Wing was filled up with members of the Order and of Dumbledore's army who had been injured somehow a few hours earlier in the battle. So far, no one had talked about what had happened in the Tower. Hell, Draco didn't blame them. It was so hard to comprehend that his Godfather had murdered Dumbledore in cold blood. There were times were Draco really didn't think that Snape was still loyal to Voldemort, but after the events of the night, Draco knew that no one would ever be able to doubt it again.

"You!" Draco heard an enraged voice cry out from the entrance of the wing. He craned his neck over to see Weasley marching his way over to the bed that Draco was currently residing in. "You did this, didn't you? You're the reason that Dumbledore is dead. I bed that you planned this out didn't you? You gained all of our trust and then went behind our back to murder the greatest wizard to ever live!"

Draco swore under his breath. He knew that Weasley was speaking out of anger, but there was a good chance that he would do a great deal of damage to Draco unless he acted quickly. Searching for his wand, he rolled over to the table beside his bed. Unfortunately for him, before he could reach for it, a wand was already at his throat.

"I'll kill you, you bastard. I'll make it the most painful thing that you've ever experienced!" Weasley screeched.

"Ron, stop! What are you doing?!" A feminine voice called out from behind the two of them. Thankfully, Draco saw Hermione making her way over to the two of them.

"He as good as killed Dumbledore, so now I'm going to kill him!" Ron parroted to her.

"Ron, that's ridiculous. How could he have any idea what would have happened tonight, you weren't there!" Hermione tried reasoning.

"For Merlin's sake, stop taking his side all the bloody time. You weren't there either."

"But I was," a third voice said.

Draco groaned. Great, now Potter would give Weasley a reason to hex him. Draco was doomed.

"Believe it or not Ron, but Malfoy had nothing to do with it," Potter said, surprising everyone.

"But Harry, that's not possible! Why else would he have gone to Dumbledore then? Dumbledore was supposed to prevent all of this from happening, not get himself killed while trying! No, Malfoy must have betrayed us," Weasley said, spitting out his words with disgust.

"So something went wrong! You can only plan out so much, but nothing is ever perfect. Dumbledore was weak to begin with. When we got the Horcrux he took a potion that weakened him. And on top of that, Snape was supposed to be on our side. No one could have known he would turn against us, not even Dumbledore."

Hermione let out a quiet sob, "I just can't believe that he's gone. It's Dumbledore! How are we supposed to carry on without him?"

Draco felt the urge to grab her hand and give it a comforting squeeze but unfortunately for him, he was cut off by his professor.

"Miss. Granger, Hermione, we continue on as usual. Now that Albus is gone it's definitely not going to be easy, but we still have a war to fight."

The four students remained absolutely silent. It seemed useless to even bother trying to fight anymore, despite what they knew they had to do.

A few beds over, the plump maternal Weasley was sobbing over the body of her son. The boy in question did not appear to be dead, but was definitely severely injured. Draco felt a sinking feeling as he recognized the work of Fenrir Greyback. Things were bad enough between him and Weasley, and now the boy probably would blame him for this. It didn't bother him to have someone else hate him, but it definitely would make his current situation harder than it already was.

McGonagall seemed to have more to say, "Now Potter, I know you told me what had happened earlier, but I need you to recount the events once more. We need all the facts about this."

As Potter recounted the events of the night, Hermione took a seat next to Draco on the bed. For the first time since he had talked to her forever ago, he had a chance to observe her up close. She had a few cuts on her face scattered amongst her face and her hair was a mess. Her robes were slightly torn, and were covered in blood. But she was okay, and to him, that was all that mattered. She weaved her fingers gracefully through his as she listened to the story once more.

"Potter, I simply cannot believe that Severus would have killed Dumbledore. Maybe you misunderstood what was happening," she tried to say.

Draco interrupted her, "With all due respect Professor, I was there as well, and I saw the exact same thing as Potter. Snape is loyal to the Death Eaters."

For the first time in the six years that he had known the Gryffindor head, he saw something other the cold strict exterior that her face usually held. Draco saw a sadness to her, and could almost swear that it looked as if her eyes were filled with tears. But then again, it could have just been the lighting to the room.

Draco heard a bickering pair by the bed beside him.

"-and he was going to be married!" Mrs. Weasley bawled loudly.

"And what do you mean by zat?" Fleur Delacour asked shrewdly.

Merlin, what was that veela from the Triwizarding Tournament doing here? And more importantly, why did she care what happened to a Weasley?

"Well-only that-"

Fleur seemed to turn that ugly shade of veela just then as she retorted, "You theenk, becase of these bites, he will not love me?"

Mrs Weasley tried to get in a word, but Draco could not make it out. By now everyone in the room was listening in with full interest.

"Because 'e will! It would take more than a werewolf to stop Bill loving me!" Fleur yelled, naming the Weasley on the bed.

Mrs. Weasley stuttered out something about how Fleur being too shallow to care about him now he was scarred.

Fleur began to get even more furious and yelled about how she 'loves him' and how she is 'good looking enough for the both of' them.

In front of his eyes, something changed between the two women. Mrs. Weasley and Fleur Delacour bonded over the injured boy whom they both very much loved. Gag him.

* * *

Hermione exchanged a stunned look with Ginny (who in the midst of the fight had made her way over to Harry's side). She had in no way suspected that the two women would find some sort of common ground.

Hermione had to say that she was impressed. So there was a lot more to Fleur than she let on. Sure, she had been a school representative two years ago, but it didn't have a lot to do with her ability to love. But then, a women like Fleur could easily have picked some sort of good looking rich bloke and settled down with him if she had liked. She would have been a perfect Trophy Wife.

"You see! She still wants to marry him, even though he's been bitten. She doesn't care!" Tonks said enraged.

"It's different. Bill will not be a full werewolf, the cases are completely - " Remus said feebly.

"But I don't care either. I don't care!" she said as she took a tight grasp of his worn out shirt. "I've told you a million times …"

Of course Hermione had begun to piece together everything that Harry had told her about Tonks over the last couple months, and what was currently happening now. She watched to see what would happen next. Draco seemed to be watching keenly as well, while slowly squeezing her hand in his.

"I am not being ridiculous. Tonks deserves somebody young and whole."

Mr. Weasley begged to differ as he used his son as a reference, even though it pained him. Fleur had taken residence in a chair beside his bed, and was currently stroking her fiancé's bandaged face.

"This is … not the moment to discuss it," Lupin said, attempting to avoid the conversation. It was abovious that he loved her, so why couldn't he just say so? Dumbledore is dead."

McGonagall began to point out how Dumbledore would want more love in the world.

There was nothing Lupin could say that could convince anyone otherwise.

Hermione looked over at Ron and Harry who looked absolutely baffled by the entire situation. Men.

* * *

Harry sat in Dumbledore's office with Hermione, Ron, and Malfoy. The night before had been a rough one and none of them had slept very well. He had just found out that the Horcrux was a fake and had been taken already by an R.A.B.

That fact infuriated Harry beyond anything else. If they hadn't gone to the cave and Dumbledore hadn't taken the potion, then maybe he would still be here right now. Instead, his life was wasted over a false bauble.

He knew that his anger was for the most part, a result of little sleep the night before. But he couldn't help but feel so lost. Dumbledore had left him with no instruction of how to proceed. More importantly, Dumbledore had left him.

It was the first time that he had stepped foot into the office now that his Headmaster had died. The room once mysterious room now held a deep sadness to it. The usually obnoxious portraits on the wall were somber with the news of the death.

The chair that Dumbledore always sat on was now occupied by McGonagall. She had just spent the last several moments attempting to coax out the instructions that Dumbledore had left with him. Of course he had blatantly refused. The only people who could ever know what needed to happen, were currently sitting on the opposing side of her, and that was how it needed to remain.

"What will happen to me?" Malfoy blurted out suddenly. "Do I go on the run now? Or do I go back to the Death Eaters and continue to spy for you?"

McGonagall looked taken aback by his outburst. "Mr. Malfoy, as we speak the news of your 'death' is being leaked back to the Death Eaters. They will try to search for you for a while, but they will eventually have to give up."

Malfoy didn't reply to this. Harry personally didn't blame him though. While the boy couldn't have had many friends amongst Voldemort's ranks, it probably would kill his mother to hear the news about his death.

"And where do I go? I trust that it means that I cannot finish my schooling here then?" Malfoy said after a moment longer of silence.

"No, you cannot. For the meantime, your Aunt Andromeda has agreed to take you in. It didn't take much convincing on my part, Mr. Malfoy. She genuinely wants to build a relationship with you. I trust that you will not sabotage her good nature in any way," she said sternly.

Malfoy nodded, comprehending his current situation. While Harry had never met Andromeda Tonks or her husband, he suspected that they must have been great people for Tonks to have turned out the way she did.

"Very well, now that it has all been settled, the four of you may leave. I'm sure that you all have things to discuss. Draco, your aunt will be here in a few hours, please try and remain out of sight until then," McGonagall said, dismissing them.

* * *

Draco stood in the Astronomy Tower with Potter. He had no idea what it was that he was doing there, but for some reason the 'Chosen One' decided that he wanted to talk to him.

"Malfoy, I want to put everything past us," Potter said suddenly. He was currently standing over the railing and looking over the school grounds.

Draco didn't expect for the two of them to be back in the tower so quickly after Dumbledore's death.

While he had never had the same connection with Dumbledore as Potter had, he still felt odd being in the room so soon. He could bet that it was even worse for Potter.

"What do you mean by 'everything'?" Draco asked, using air quotations over the word.

"I mean our entire past, from the moment we met. I want the two of us to start over and begin from new," Potter said while taking in a deep breath.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Potter?" Draco asked uncertainly. Potter wasn't exactly known for his forgiving nature.

Potter laughed dryly. "I'm serious, Malfoy. I know that it's a weird concept, but it's the truth."

"Why?" Draco asked, extremely startled. It wasn't that he didn't want to move past everything, but he was stunned that the boy would even consider it.

"Because I need to. Only four people know about what I have to do. Only four people. And on top of that, it helps that you haven't been the same person over the last few months that you have been over the last several years," Potter said calmly. "And on top of that, you are now a member of the Order of Phoenix. It's impossible working with people that you don't like and can't get along with. So because of that, I want to put everything past us. However, if you don't want to, then I'm fine with that as well."

Draco shook his head. "Don't get me wrong Potter. It's just that I haven't been the greatest person. And on top of that, we have a long and complicated history. If you're fine putting all of that past us, then I am fine moving on. But in spite of that, I also will understand if you want nothing else to do with me one I go off to my Aunt's house." He leaned against a pillar and crossed his arms.

"I want us to put all of this behind us. It's going to be a long road to bringing down Voldemort down, then I need as many people on my side as possible. And if that includes someone who I haven't always gotten along with, then I guess that's what I need to do."

Draco almost laughed at that. "I think that not getting along is an understatement Potter. The both of us hated each other. Hell, we've cursed each other more times that I can count. But if putting all of this past us is what we need to do, then I will."

Potter nodded and struck out his hand. "If we are going to do this then I want us to start over completely. So I'll call you Draco if you call me Harry."

"Okay then…Harry," Draco said uncertainly. It felt extremely weird using his first name.

"Oh and Malfoy, one more thing," Harry said with an odd smile.

"Yes?" Draco asked him, sounding unsure of what more the boy could want.

"Hermione likes you. I'm pretty sure that at this point that you probably know that, so I'm just going to cut to the chase. If you end up hurting her in any way at all, then I will kill you," Harry said threateningly.

Draco looked at him, shocked. In all honesty while he had suspected it, he really had no idea that Hermione returned his feelings.

"Are you actually encouraging this?" Draco asked him. "Why would you want me to date your best friend? Aren't you worried that I would be bad for her?"

Harry just smiled again. "No. While I don't want her to get hurt, I have a feeling that you wouldn't hurt her by choice." Potter then proceeded to walk out of the room, leaving Draco to be left with his mouth hanging open.

* * *

Andromeda waited patiently in the Headmaster's office. She had been extremely sceptical when Minerva first approached her with the idea of letting her nephew Draco stay with her. Minerva had used the argument that Draco had very few family left and that it might do him some good. So she had agreed to let him stay with her.

She had never met the boy once in her life but if Draco was anything like her two sisters then she was unsure what good she would be able to do. But Minerva had assured her that his ideals had changed drastically over the last several months.

So here she was, waiting for her nephew.

At precisely 6 p.m. Draco walked into the room. He looked exactly like Lucius had at his age, but at the same time his features had the same softness of Narcissa.

"Hello Draco," she greeted her nephew warmly.

He smiled at her as he outstretched his hand, "Hello Aunt Andromeda, it's wonderful to finally meet you," he said charismatically.

She pushed away her hand and brought him into a tight embrace. "It's wonderful to meet you to, Draco." She felt his arms rise to her back. He seemed unsure of the hug, and Andromeda took that mean that he never received much love growing up. With a father like Lucius, she certainly wouldn't doubt that.

As she pulled away, Minerva smiled at the two of them. "Well, it's good to see that you guys are getting along already. Draco, I'm sure that I will no doubt see you soon enough."

Draco nodded at her. "Until then, I guess this is goodbye."

Andromeda handed him a pot of floo powder and gave him the address of her house. She watched as he disappeared through the emerald flames. At least a little bit of good was still there in such harsh times.


	20. Settling In

**Chapter 20**

Draco stepped out of the fireplace of his Aunt's house. Brushing the dust off his outfit, he looked around the sitting room. It was no Malfoy Manor, but Draco could tell that this home was filled with far more love than his house ever had.

The house was two stories tall, and to the right of the room was the kitchen. The entire house had an antique style to it. From what he could see, the house was decorated with warm colours. In the chair across from where he apparated was a man, whom Draco perceived to be his Uncle Ted Tonks.

Ted was tall and his fair coloured hair was combed nicely off to the side. He was dressed in moderate robes and his features seemed to reflect those of his cousin. At this moment, his right leg was crossed over his left and he was reading the Daily Prophet. Draco glanced to the cover of the paper and saw that the Daily Prophet was running a feature on the Life of Dumbledore and felt that he would be seeing a lot of that at the moment. As soon as Ted noticed Draco's appearance into the room, Ted dropped the newspaper he was reading off to the side and stood up to greet him.

"You must be Draco Malfoy, I've heard so much about you recentl,y" Ted said with a warm smile. He extended out his right hand and when Draco took it, he noticed that his uncle had a nice firm shake. It was the sort of handshake that Draco's father often told him was the best to use when making a first impression.

Draco returned the smile, "It's nice to meet you sir. I wish I could say that I have heard nothing but good things about you, but unfortunately I cannot," Draco said truthfully; however it was filled with a slight sadness. "However, recently I have been able to paint over all the impressions I was bestowed with, with ones of my own. So I do hope that you will allow me to get to know you," Draco added.

Ted chuckled as his aunt appeared in the fireplace. "Andromeda, your nephew is certainly the charmer. I do look forward to being able to make his acquaintance," he said as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

His aunt appeared to be taking in the situation hesitantly and Draco did not blame her. It was the first time that his pureblood self was meeting her husband, a muggleborn, and after receiving years of knowledge over the impurity of muggleborns, it was only natural to be hesitant. After deciding for herself that Draco truly intended to make amends on his behalf and get to know her family, Andromeda smiled.

"I'm glad to see the two of you getting along," she said kind-hearted. "Draco, I don't know how long you are going to be staying here for, but I want you to feel at home."

Draco smiled at her, "Thank you. The fact that you are extending hospitality to me after everything my family has done means a lot," he said genuinely.

Andromeda replied, "That's what family is for Draco," she said softly. After a moment she added, "How about I show you to your room to you can settle in?"

Draco nodded, "That would be wonderful."

She led him up a flight of stairs and the two of them walked in silence. After the had reached the top, she turned to him.

"Draco, there's something I wanted to ask you but didn't want to do so in front of Ted," she said after a moment.

Draco wondered what she possibly could want to ask him without her husband's presence.

"Ted hates it when I worry about the past, but I still have to know. Draco have either of my sisters ever mentioned me?" she asked as the two of them resumed walking down the hall.

Draco knew that this was a delicate subject and thought carefully before replying. "My aunt Bella only mentioned you once. She was warning me about the importance of marrying a pureblood and how if I failed to I would end up like you or Sirius Black. I wish I had gotten to know you sooner though. It's a shame that Sirius is dead, I think I would have liked to have met him," Draco said. He knew it was still rather harsh, but it was the truth.

Andromeda seemed to take this in. She had a sadness in her eyes but it vanished once Draco added the next part.

"My mother never said much about it. I always felt that she had more to say, but she rarely ever spoke her mind in company. But I remember once when I was young she told me that she missed you and how she looked up to you when she was younger. She also said how she hated that she couldn't talk to you and wished she was brave enough to try."

His aunt smiled at this. "I hope that after all of this is over, I can get to know her again."

"I know that she'll like that."

Finally, she stopped in front of an unmarked door and turned the handle. "This will be your room during your time here," she said as she stepped aside to allow him entry.

"Thank you," he said as he walked into the room. He supposed it was modern size for what a room should be. It was smaller than his room at the manor, but it was spacious enough for him not to feel confined to a small area. The room was undecorated, so Draco guessed that he was in a guest room in the house.

As he placed his bag on the bed and began to unpack, his mind began to wander. What he had told his aunt about Bellatrix's remarks was an understatement. Her aunt would often go out of her way to show him that there is nothing her family wasn't capable of. She would scoff every time anyone said Sirius Black was a Death Eater, for she had known the truth all along. It was only a year after his uncle's escape, that he had learned the horrid truth behind his imprisonment.

He wished he could say that his family couldn't be capable of such horrible things, but he knew that it would be a lie. Her own aunt had killed her cousin after all, and he knew that she probably would kill Andromeda if it came down to that.

Sirius Black was the uncle he never had known and never would know. He knew that he was Potter's godfather and was a friend to his parent's family. But other than that, that was all he knew. He had no idea how he would get along with a man who had completely different ideals than the ones Draco had been taught. In a way the two of them had that in common. They both turned their backs against what their family taught them to fight on the other side of the war. It would have been nice to know his uncle, so he could tell Draco about his experiences.

But at least he had the opportunity to get to know his aunt and her family. Aunt Andromeda looked so much like her sister Bellatrix, that it was a wonder that people didn't often confuse the two of them. However his aunt's features were definitely softer, while Bellatrix's features were wild and dangerous.

Everything that he had seen so far screamed that the family was welcoming and generous. He hated to impose on them, and worried what they would think from meeting him. It was an incredibly generous offer for them to take him in.

As he put away the last of his belongings, he took out a piece of parchment and some ink. He wanted to write to Hermione and let her know of his safe arrival, as per request. Before he had set off to go meet his aunt, Hermione had cornered him and told him to write to her as he arrived and any time he wanted to talk.

He was still confused over the fact that Potter had informed him of Hermione's feelings. Draco knew that the Weasel still had feelings for her, so shouldn't Potter be encouraging that relationship?

He dipped the quill into the ink and began to write. He knew better than to use real names or locations in the odd chance that his letter had been seen by anyone it wasn't supposed to.

_Dear H_

"Writing a letter to your girlfriend?" a voice called out from the door. He turned quickly to see Tonks leaning against the door frame.

"Not that it's any of your business but no I'm not, _Nymphadora_," Draco said, using extra emphasis upon her name.

"Don't call me that," she said, with a growl. She made her way into his room and sat down on the bed.

Her hair was currently a simple blonde. He guessed that it must have been her natural colour, but wasn't quite sure. After everything between her and Lupin in the hospital wing, Draco supposed that she was attempting to seem slightly more sophisticated to show her maturity to him.

"Fine," he smirked.

"So how are you settling in?" she said after a pause.

"Pretty good. Your parents have been kind to me upon my arrival," he said.

"Did you expect something different?" she questioned.

"I wasn't sure what to expect," he said quietly.

"Don't go getting all depressed on me Little Cuz. Trust me, by the time you leave, you'll be begging to come back," she said confidently.

"I'm sure," Draco scoffed at the suggestion. But he knew deep down that he was going to enjoy staying here.

"So how's it going with Lupin?" Draco asked her after a moment. After the debatable in the hospital he was curious to know if he would soon welcome the werewolf into his family.

He noticed his cousin blush, which was something he had never seen her do in the time he had known her.

"How much do you know about that?" she asked him curiously.

"Not much," he admitted. "Just what I saw that day."

"Would you like to know about our relationship, or are you just making small talk?" she asked him hesitantly.

"Honestly? I'm curious about it. It's not every day you find out your cousin is with your ex-professor," Draco replied.

"I've been seeing him for a little while now. I've known him for a while; it's hard not to know people who are in the Order together. The two of us were on patrol in Hogsmeade one night when there was a disturbance. I'm not sure who was there exactly, but the attack was bad. I remember being cornered by three Death Eaters and having to fight them all off. It was fine at first, but a few more joined them. I remember being so sure that it was going to be the end and that one of them would kill me for sure. But then Remus came; and you know how they say there's strength in numbers. We were able to get the village secured and got the Death Eaters to leave.

"Remus was injured and he needed help urgently. I had to run up to the Castle and ask Madam Pomfery to come take a look at him. That night, we rented a room at the Three Broomsticks because he needed someone to watch him to make sure none of his injuries got worse. He was in pain and couldn't sleep and I was too worried to try; so the two of us stayed up that night talking about everything and anything. I had already known his secret, but he told me himself. I knew it bothered him to have to say it allowed, and the moment he said it, I could see his eyes search mine for any sense that I wouldn't want to be around him anymore. But I had no insincerities towards him. That was the first time we met up with each other.

"Since then we've slowly built up a relationship. And I've grown to care for him deeply. I told him I loved him the other day, and he completely freaked out. I think it finally hit him that there was a chance the two of us could grow into something serious. Remus doesn't open up to many people, and I don't blame him. He's faced discrimination for years and he's lost the four people in the world who accepted him no matter what. He lost James and Lily, and then Peter, and Sirius. I think the only thing that keeps him going in knowing that he still has Harry to care for. But it worried him that I would be ruining my life to be with him.

Tonks paused for a second and allowed Draco to absorb all of it in before she started again.

"He says that it's because he's a lot older than I am, but I know that it's a lie. The ministry has begun to talk about Anti-Werewolf Legislations. He's worried about what it would do to me to be involved with him after that. Honestly, the whole thing is ridiculous. They are only making these laws because werewolves tend to side with Voldemort. But they only do that because Voldemort makes them promises of a better life. And it might be an empty promise, but it's a lot more than the Ministry is bothering with."

Draco was stunned. He honestly had no idea that all of this was happening with the Ministry. He had heard of Anti-Werewolf campaigns in the past, but never had been concerned with them. It had never had affected him before.

"He'll come around," Draco assured her. "Just give him a bit of time."

Tonks snorted. "Let me guess, you're one of those kids who is real smooth with the ladies aren't you?"

Draco grinned, "I guess you could say that."

"So that letter you were writing before I interrupted you. Was it for your girlfriend?" Tonk asked him questioningly.

"No," Draco said a bit too quickly.

"So it's a girl who you really fancy? Tonks pestered teasingly.

"No!" Draco exclaimed. "I mean, I like her, but well, uh"

"She doesn't know that you fancy her, does she?" Tonks asked him curiously.

"No," Draco said with a sigh.

"And you're not planning on telling her? Look kid, we're in the middle of a war. If you want something, then you shouldn't wait. What if something happens to either of you, and you're left wondering about what could have happened if you acted on your feelings. Isn't it better to know?" his elder cousin said wisely.

"When did you get so smart? Weren't you a Hufflepuff?" Draco asked her with a huff. However he couldn't help but wonder if he should tell Hermione.

"When did you get so selfless? Aren't you a Slytherin?" she retorted back.

"Hmph."

"So, who is she?" Tonks asked him as she gave him a slight nudge.

"What makes you think I'd tell you?" Draco asked her, with a bit of his former self edging into his voice.

"I don't know, maybe because I just bore my soul out to you?" She snipped sarcastically.

Draco sighed. "I suppose you're right." And with that, Draco launched straight into his story.

At the end of it, her eyes had widened in shock. "But isn't Hermione with Ron?" she exclaimed.

"She said she doesn't think of him that way," Draco said silently.

"Interesting…" she said, without letting her thoughts in on her words. "Well little cousin, why haven't you done anything yet? Honestly, if you were half as smooth as you're supposed to be, then you should have made a move by now."

"Well, I was attempting to write her a letter," Draco said pointedly,

"Ah, gotcha; fine Little Cousin, I'll leave you to it then," she said with wink as she exited the room.

Draco shook his head, but couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Hermione sat on the Hogwarts Express with one sad Ginny Weasley sitting across from her.

"I know he has to fight Voldemort, but I just wish he hadn't broken up with me," Ginny said as she stared out of the window.

Her friend had found her a few moments ago and told her what had occurred between her and her former boyfriend. Hermione had seen it coming; Harry always had to play the hero. But she couldn't help but side with him

"Hermione, I think that owl on the window is for you," Ginny said suddenly, interrupting Hermione from her thoughts.

Feeling confused, she opened the window and let the owl in. As she did, she took the letter that it was holding and opened it up.

_Dear H,_

_I have safely arrived at my Aunt's house, so you can stop worrying about that. And yes, I do know that you were probably fretting over the matter._

_To be honest, I really like it here. I had a chat with my cousin earlier, and it got me wondering how my life would have been like if I had known her as I grew up. Honestly, I probably would have ended up in Hufflepuff. I know you're laughing as you read that and are now imagining me in their robes. You are rather predictable like that._

_There was also something I was meaning to ask you. How long am I supposed to stay here for? I know that it's for my own protection, but I can't help but feel useless. There's very little I can do to help the OoTP (__**A/N: **__Order of The Phoenix) from here._

_Hope to hear from you soon,_

_D_

Ginny peered over her shoulder as she read the contents of the letter, "Him and Tonks probably got along rather well didn't they," Ginny said with a laugh. "How much do you want to bet that she spent the entire time making fun of him for one thing or another?"

Hermione laughed. She caught herself smiling throughout reading the letter as Draco successfully predicted her reactions, but also felt a pang as she realised how much she missed him.

She took out a quill and a piece of parchment and began to write a letter back (which Ginny attempted to contribute many suggestions to).

* * *

**A/N: **When reading the books, I always wished that J.K. Rowling would extend on Remus and Tonk's story a bit more. It was hinted and we received a bit of knowledge, but I thought I should extend on it. Now that Draco is staying with his Aunt and her family, I'm going to write a bit more about the pairing :D


	21. The Loss of A Child

**Chapter 21**

Draco helped his aunt peel vegetables in the kitchen of his aunt and uncle's house. Tonks had said she was going to bring Lupin over for dinner so his aunt was going out of her way to make a meal perfect for the company. His aunt had insisted that Draco didn't need to help her, but Draco still felt like doing something worthwhile.

Ever since he had arrived in the house, there had been a limited amount of work for him to do. McGonagall had sent over some textbooks for 7th year courses that Draco would have taken if he had stayed at the school, but he could only study so much at a time. Draco found that he began to spend a large majority of his time talking to his extended family and getting to know them further. His uncle was interesting and the two of them often had heated debates over topics. But they also found that they agreed on a large majority of things.

And when Draco wasn't talking to Tonks or Uncle Ted, he was helping his Aunt Andromeda out around the house. Because her family didn't have a house elf, Draco got to experience firsthand what it was like to do housework. He supposed it was similar to living like a muggle, except for the sense that there were spells he could use to make his work easier.

He could tell that his Aunt was worried about their dinner guest that night. Meeting the significant other of your child is one thing when they are around the same age as your child, but an entirely different thing when they are a few years younger than yourself.

Draco was setting the table and his aunt was putting together the final details on the meal as the fireplace glowed. Tonks came running down the stairs from her room, where Draco assumed she was busy getting ready. He noticed that his cousin had pulled her hair back and gone slightly out of her way to make herself look nice. He liked how his cousin didn't go out of her way to make herself look good, nor did she use her metamorphmagus skills to physically change her appearance.

Tonks rushed to the sitting room where Draco presumed Lupin had just come in through. The pair walked into the kitchen moments later. Remus smiled at Andromeda and Draco as he handed a bottle of wine to Andromeda.

"Hello, Andromeda. It's good to see you," Lupin said with a smile as his aunt took the bottle off his hands.

"And you, Remus. I hope all has been well recently," Andromeda greeted him cordially.

"Yes it has, thanks for asking," Remus said before turning to face Draco. "Hello Mr. Malfoy. It's been a while since the two of us have seen each other. I trust all is well?"

"Yes it has been, Professor Lupin," Draco said awkwardly. He had no idea how he was supposed to greet his ex-teacher.

"You can call me Remus. It's been a while since I've been your professor," Remus said kindly.

"Uh thanks. I guess you can call me Draco then," he said, still feeling slightly awkward.

Tonks smiled at the two of them, obviously relieved that he was getting along with Lupin. Draco then noticed something different about his cousin. He noticed an average size ring on her finger. The ring was in no way fancy or expensive, but it still meant the same thing; his cousin was getting married.

Draco's eyes widened at the realization as he looked back and forth at the two of them. Tonks must have noticed his expression because she had a desperate look on her face; one that showed that she didn't want him to say anything

So Draco busied himself by continuing to set the table while his aunt talked to her future son-in-law, while unaware of his new relationship to her.

As they all began to dig into the food, Ted turned to Lupin.

"So Remus, what brings you by our house today?" Ted asked the man kindly.

Remus cleared his throat nervously. "I've actually come to ask you something." Draco noticed that a similar expression of fear was donned on Tonks' face as well.

"Oh? and what might that be?" Uncle Ted asked the man a bit wearily.

"Sir, I care for your daughter very much. And I would never want to do anything to harm her or yourselves. And with that said sir, I would like your permission to marry your daughter," Lupin said, his voice losing confidence with every word he said.

His uncle had an uncomfortable look on his face. "Are you sure now is the best time for all of that? I mean we are in the middle of a war right now. And the two of you do have a significant age gap…" his uncle's voice trailed on.

"Dad, I know all of that. But Bill and Fleur are getting married within a few weeks and both of their families have accepted that," Tonks argued.

"They still had a one year engagement, Nymphadora," Andromeda said after a moment. "I'm sure the two of you have decided that you don't want to wait that long, haven't you?"

Draco noticed by the way the two of them hesitated before answering, that his aunt had been correct.

His aunt noticed this as well, "So how long _are _you planning on waiting?"

"We decided that it would be better if we got married sooner rather than later. You never know with these sorts of things," Tonks answered again.

"And are you two certain? Nymphadora, you're still young, how do you know what this is what you want? You're stubborn Dora, you make up your mind that you want something then no one can convince you otherwise. But later on you always change your mind. So how do you know you won't do the same thing? Is it fair to Remus if you do?" Andromeda said, questioning her daughter.

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Mom, I'm not 12 anymore. Remus isn't some toy that I'll grow tired of. I love him, and I do want to spend my life with him."

Draco felt like this was a conversation she shouldn't be a part of. He could tell that his uncle and aunt were both dancing around the fact that Remus had a good 13 years on her.

Lupin finally seemed to get his confidence back. "Andromeda, Ted, I know that this puts the two of you in an awkward position. I am not exactly young, and I am sure that is a concern for the two of you. And then on top of that, there is also my Lycanthropy. I am not the perfect candidate for your daughter and I am sure there are many men out there who would be a lot better suited for her than me. But I love her, and for some reason she seems to love me back. So if you'll let me, I promise that I will treat her properly."

Tonks spoke without allowing her parents to respond, "Mum, Dad, the two of you got married despite your parents' wishes, Mum. And the way you had to do it was to cut yourself off from your family. I love Remus and I am going to marry him; the question is whether we will have your blessing or won't we?"

Draco watched as Andromeda and Ted exchanged a look, before his aunt replied to her daughter's ultimatum.

"Sweetheart, we love you. And while the circumstances between my marriage to Ted are different than those you currently face, that doesn't mean that we would ever cut you off from our family. So if you want to marry Remus, and you are certain about that, then your father and I will support you 100 percent."

Ted nodded in agreement. "Nymphadora, with that said, I still wish the two of you would have a slightly longer engagement," he said as his daughter began to protest. However Ted held up his hand to silence her. "But if the two of you are certain that you do not want to wait, then we will be more than happy to help you with your wedding plans."

Tonks smiled at her parents, obviously glad that she wouldn't have to cut them out of her life. "Thank you, Mum, Dad. It means so much to me that you guys accept that I love Remus and want to be with him."

Remus nodded, "It means a lot to both of us as well that we have your blessing. I never would want her to be in a position where she was forced to choose between her family and I. And to be honest, I don't think I could ever make her have to choose."

Tonks squeezed her fiancé's hand. "So Draco, are you interested in helping us plan the wedding?" his cousin asked him teasingly.

Draco made a face. He was never one for formal planning and whatnot. Generally, whenever his family hosted events, he left all the planning to his mother. "Uhm, I would rather not…" Draco said, his voice trailing off awkwardly.

"Come on kid, you have to pull your weight if you're going to be living here," Tonks said with a smirk; his signature smirk. He guessed some traits really were genetic.

Draco groaned as everyone around him began to laugh. He had a feeling that while the wedding probably wouldn't be a big affair, that it would still consume most of the next few weeks.

* * *

Severus Snape groaned to himself. He had been purposely avoiding Narcissa. Ever since the news of Draco's 'death' had reached her, she had become more withdrawn. While he knew that her son was alive and well, he wouldn't be able to give her the news of his well-being. Instead, he would have to give her false information which would probably destroy her.

He hated that he had to lie to the woman he considered to be an older sister. He was about to crush her soul, when in reality her son was doing what she wished he could; surviving. So mentally he prepared a reason of why he had to leave her son. And it killed him that he had to do so, but if Narcissa did not display the pain of a mother losing a child, then Voldemort would not buy Draco's death.

* * *

Narcissa sat by the window of her bedroom. She stared out, half hoping to see her son apparated onto the estate. But she knew that as every hour passed, the chances that her son would return to her were slowing declining. She didn't want to believe that he was dead; as a mother she knew that she should be able to sense if her only child's life had come to a halt. But she thought she was being overly optimistic. The chance that her Draco was still alive was very miniscule.

She remembered after Severus came in after the mission had ended.

_His face was paler than usual and she saw that the life had nearly been sucked out of his body. As he approached her, he did not make eye contact. Instead he walked right past her, ignoring her presence, and walked straight toward the Dark Lord._

_He bowed before greeting his master, "My Lord," he said in his deep voice._

"_Severus," the Dark Lord said with a raspy voice. "I trust that everything went according to plan?"_

"_Yes my Lord. Albus Dumbledore is dead at the hand of the Death Eaters." _

"_And the young Draco; what has happened to him?" the Dark Lord asked, voicing the question that Narcissa had wanted to know since he entered the room._

"_Unfortunately my Lord, he is no more. He hesitated in killing his headmaster, so I had to step up and do so. However moments later the Order of the Phoenix entered the room and one of them shot a deadly spell at him. It is my deepest regret that there was not enough time for me to save him and manage to get out of there alive," Severus said, with a voice that did not contain even a hint of remorse._

_It was at that moment that her entire life stopped. She felt herself grow faint and if she had forgotten where she was, she would have collapsed to the ground._

_Her son; her only son was dead. The boy who she had raised and groomed from a boy to a man was no more. She had heard of other mothers losing their child, but they did not describe the pain she felt with justice. It wasn't as if it was just her heart breaking; it was her entire world collapsing in around her. She had lost the most important thing in her life, and nothing would be able to change that fact. _

"_I see," the Dark Lord said in a voice that betrayed no emotion. "That is a shame. I had hoped to groom him into a higher up position but I see that it will no longer happen. And now that the Nott boy seems to have disappeared, I fear that I am losing the younger generation entirely."_

She turned her head as she heard the door knob turn. If anyone saw her in this sulking state then it would probably be reported back to the Dark Lord.

Narcissa's eyes narrowed as she realized that it was Severus who had entered her room. "What are you doing in here?" she said angrily, forgetting everything about keeping her composure.

"I wanted to explain myself to you, Narcissa," he said in a quiet voice.

"What's there to explain? You may have fulfilled the terms of your Vow, but as far as I am concerned, you broke them. All I asked was that you kept him safe Severus, and you failed to do that. You left him there! You could have saved him; all you needed to do was bring him with you. But you cared more about yourself than my son; your godson."

His eyes had sadness in them, but Narcissa did not feel any guilt. She looked down into her lap so she no longer had to look at the face of her son's executioner.

"Narcissa, please. I tried, I really did. I killed Albus so he wouldn't have to become a murderer. I just didn't think that the Order would come through the doors so quickly. I had hoped we would have a little more time to get out. But once they came in, it was utter chaos. Before I knew it, someone had hit him with a spell. He was dying, Cissa, and I couldn't do anything about it. It was not a spell I recognized and even if I brought him with me, there would have been nothing I could have done. He would have died on the way out of the school. I had to Cissa," he said, in a pleading tone.

Narcissa looked up at him and saw that his face was tear-stained. Seeing him cry released a waterfall of tears, cascading down her face. It was the first time since she had received the news of her son's death that she had allowed herself to cry. Severus brought her into a tight hug and held her tightly while she cried for everything that this war had made her lose. And while she still had him, she had never felt more alone in her entire life.

Pureblood supremacy had cost her everything. It lost her the love of her sister, Andromeda who was now happily married to a muggleborn. And it cost her the sanity of her other sister, Bellatrix, who would do anything to gain a bit of affection from the Dark Lord.

The war had cost her the relationship with her husband, and now her son. All she knew was that Lucius joining up with the Dark Lord seemed to be one of the worst mistakes that have happened to her. Her once caring husband turned into a monster that would do anything to please his 'master'. And he raised her Draco in a way that made sure her son would turn out the same. It made her slightly relieved to know that her child did not turn out to be a replica of his father, as she feared he would at a younger age. And so she lost her husband earlier in the year to the confines of Azkaban. And while in front of other Death Eaters, she put up a sad façade, she did not feel sorry. The husband that she once had loved was long gone. And now, so was her child.

It cost her all the family she ever had, and in that moment, Narcissa wondered if any of it was worth the outcome.

The only thing she knew was that she didn't want this life anymore. She wanted out.

As Severus' arms slowly unwrapped from her torso, she considered the possibility that she should leave the Death Eaters and join up with the Order of the Phoenix. While she had no idea where their headquarters were, if she visited her sister and told her everything, then she would be able to get out.

But all chances of that were cut short once Narcissa heard a commotion downstairs.

"Ah, so it has happened," Severus said with a smile.

Narcissa looked at him curiously. "What, Sev? What has happened?"

"The Dark Lord said he had some plans to help us increase our numbers once more. It must have gone favourably."

Narcissa knew that it was all she was about to get out of Severus, so she stood up and made her way down the spiral staircase to the lobby of her house.

There, standing in the middle of her home, was her husband. As she made her way to greet him with a fake smile plastered upon her face, she felt all hopes of escape fly out the window.

"Hello Narcissa," he greeted as he embraced her. While his tone was filled with happiness, Narcissa knew that it was an act for their fellow Death Eaters. She had been married to the man long enough to be able to detect the coolness in his voice.

"Lucius," she greeted. "It's good to see you at home."

She cringed internally as she knew that she was stuck in this home and there was no way she would ever be able to escape Voldemort, or her husband.

* * *

**A/N:** So I ended up writing more about Narcissa than I had intended, but I`m glad that I did. I wanted to show how a mother would feel knowing that her son is dead, even though we know otherwise. And while writing her section, a few more ideas came to mind for this story. So I hope you liked it.

I loved reading all of your reviews and reactions to this story. I find it amazing how many of you favourite/review on this story and I hope to keep it up to expectations.


	22. The Wedding of Nymphadora and Remus

**Chapter 22**

Draco sat on his cousin's bed as he watched her add layers of makeup onto her face. As he had predicted, the two weeks leading up to today, the day of Tonks' and Remus' wedding was one filled with heavy planning, arguments, and many tears. However this morning, everything was going as smooth as the latest firebolt.

His cousin had been getting ready for the last two hours, and at this point it simply astounded him. How was it possible that one person needed so much time in getting ready to walk down the aisle? As it stood, Remus already loved her, so why was it necessary to put in so much more effort? Honestly, he never would understand girls.

"Why don't you just use your morphing skills to get ready? You would save so much more time. You could just transform into whatever you wanted to look like," Draco said exasperatedly as he dramatically fell to a lying position on the bed.

"What fun would that be?" his cousin said with a smirk as she turned to look at him. Her makeup so far looked fairly neutral, and if he hadn't been in the room for the entire duration of her placing it on her face, he could have sworn that she was wearing only a little bit. "Besides, if you're so bored of sitting here, why don't you go help set up the decorations? You know what they say about more helping wands."

Draco sighed. "I don't want to. Every single day it's wedding this, decoration that. If I pretend to be helping you, then no one will make me do any more work."

Tonks laughed. "Yeah, cause you're doing so much to help me get ready. Don't worry though little cousin, I would rather not ask for your assistance. I may be clumsy, but the last thing I want is for you to break something, regardless of how graceful you claim to be."

Draco made an indistinguishable sound as he proceeded to hand her the veil. As she placed it on top of the bun of her currently blonde hair, Draco faked a sob.

"Oh _Nymphadora_, you look so beautiful. You've grown up into such a gorgeous young woman," Draco fake brawled as he dabbed at invisible tears.

Tonks threw her hairbrush at his head, and it hit him right on. As the brush fell to the floor, Draco rubbed the spot where he was sure a bruise would appear.

"That hurt," he complained as he checked his reflection in the mirror. His hair was groomed back with a minimal amount of hair gel. He was wearing a set of dark black formal dress robes that his aunt had procured for him. They were nowhere near as formal as the ones he had back at the Manor, but he couldn't very well go back there and get them, now could he?

"Then don't act like such a berk," she retorted while pushing him out of the way so she could use the mirror herself.

"Gah Tonks, stop hogging the mirror. Seriously, other people need to use it too," Draco grumbled as he could no longer stair at his appearance.

Nymphadora was about to say something that was most likely snarky in return, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Are you decent in there, Dora?" Andromeda's voice called out from the other side of the door.

"Yes, come on in Mum," Nymphadora responded as she stood from the chair she had been sitting on.

As the door opened, Aunt Andromeda and Uncle Ted made their way into the room. The pair gasped as they saw their daughter in front of them.

His aunt's eyes instantly began to water. "Oh Nymphadora," she cried out. "You look so beautiful, honey."

Uncle Ted nodded as his eyes brimmed with tears. "You've certainly grown into a lovely young woman," he said as he placed his arm around his wife.

Draco stifled a laugh as his uncle and aunt repeated an almost exact replica of the words he had teasingly said to his cousin a short while ago. Tonks threw him a brief dirty look that went amiss to his aunt and uncle.

She turned back to smile at her parents. "Thanks Mum, Dad," she said, with her voice breaking slightly.

Draco had to do a double take to notice that his strong cousin was near tears. Weddings were just far too emotional.

Nymphadora hugged both her parents as Draco rolled his eyes. His cousin pulled away slightly to extend her hug to him as well.

Draco looked at his elder cousin with shock. "You don't seriously expect me to hug you, do you?" It seemed like something far too cliché to join into.

"Oh just get over here, will you?" she said impatiently as she gave him a glare. "You're going to ruin the moment."

As Draco made his way over, he debated how to respond. But before he could say anything, Draco was pulled into the tight hug.

"Can't… Breath…" Draco choked out, as he felt the life get squeezed out of him. And with those words, the hug seemed to end.

Ted looked down at his watch and saw the time. "Dora, we better get downstairs. It's almost time for you to walk down the aisle. Draco, Remus has already made his way down, so you better go join him."

Draco nodded as climbed down the stairs. About a week ago, Remus had approached him and asked him to be his best man. Draco had been stunned, seeing that he barely knew the man. But after a few moments, he supposed it made a bit of sense. The wedding was extremely small; the only people attending were him, and his aunt and uncle. And his uncle would be a bit busy walking his only daughter down the aisle.

Draco supposed that Remus would have preferred for Sirius Black or even James Potter to be his best man, but they were both dead. And the closest thing he had to either of them was Harry Potter. But unfortunately for Remus, Harry was busy being locked up in his aunt and uncle's house. So there was really no one left for him to choose. So Draco had agreed to his request. After all, the man was about to become his cousin as well.

He sensed that Remus was relieved once Draco had agreed. Draco checked his pocked quickly to make sure that both the rings were still there. The last thing he wanted was to forget them both and then have the ceremony come to a halt. Okay maybe that was a bit dramatic. Worst come worst, they could simply summon the rings. But at the same time, it certainly would put a bit of a downer on things.

Draco stood at the end of the aisle as he admired all the work that had been placed into this small ceremony. While there were only two chairs for the 'guests' to sit in, no detail had been overlooked. At the end of the aisle, Kingsley and Remus were standing and talking under a floral arch made entirely of roses. Remus was wearing a slightly shabby set of robes and Kingsley was wearing a crimson set. Kingsley had agreed to marry off the couple, seeing that very few others would.

The family had agreed that it was best to ask an Order member, as it wouldn't be safe to let others know the location of the house. And while the house's secret keeper was Ted Tonks, you never knew who might be tortured for information.

Remus looked nervous as he responded to all of Kingsley's attempts at conversation when Draco had joined them.

The three of them turned around as his aunt made a sound to call their attention. And then, with a wave of her wand, the music began to play. He noticed Remus stare astounded as Tonks appeared at the far end of the aisle.

And while he had just seen her moments before, he could swear that she looked far prettier than before. Her robes were a brilliant and pure shade of white. She wore simple jewellery, and Draco seen that his aunt had given it to her. His mother had often told him that if he were a girl, then he would possess the jewellery that her mother had given her. It was the Black family tradition to pass down jewellery to daughters before their wedding. So even though Andromeda had been disinherited, Draco supposed that she still kept some of the less hateful values she had been taught.

Draco smiled at Tonks as he saw her face light up once she saw her future husband. He knew that the two of them would be very happy together.

* * *

As the wedding concluded, Draco found himself relaxing in a chair in the house. It had been a long day, and Draco was beyond tired. He closed his eyes and felt himself drifting off into a blissful sleep, however before he could get too wrapped up in the pleasure, his attention had been summoned.

"Draco?" a voice called out, bringing him back into the world of the living.

He looked up to see Remus standing beside the chair. "Do you mind if I sit for a moment?"

Draco gestured to the chair on the opposite side of a table. "Can I help you with something? I know that both you and Ton-Nymphadora must be eager to get on with your honeymoon."

Remus gave a nod as he looked at his new wife. She had a few tears in her eyes as she was hugging both her parents. She had changed into a set of casual robes and had her hair undone from its prior former state.

The couple weren't planning on going anywhere too formal; after all, the world was almost in utter chaos to enjoy a full honeymoon. But they still wished to get away for a few days to celebrate their new status. So Andromeda had suggested that they got to the Tonks' family summer home. She had told them that it was nothing much, but they would still have the privacy they desired. And it helped that the home was connected to the floo network, in case of emergencies.

"I wanted to talk to you about some Order business," Remus said as he took a seat.

In spite of everything, Draco was not an official Order member. He understood their hesitancy to allow him entry, and it didn't help that he was just barely of age. But he didn't mind that fact. He still was a Death Eater, regardless of the fact that he had become a turncoat. And the last thing he wanted was to accidently get caught and give up important secrets.

"What sort of business?" he asked is cousin-in-law curiously.

"As you know, at the end of the month, Harry turns 17. And as you probably have heard, his Aunt and Uncle aren't the most pleasant of people. But because Lily's love saved Harry, and that his aunt has the same blood as his mother, he is safe there. But once he turns 17, that protection ends, and Voldemort will be free to attack him. So either way, we need to get Harry and his extended family out of the house.

"But there is also another way to break the enchantment. If Harry can no longer call the place home before his birthday, the spell will come to an end. So instead of waiting until then, we have decided to get him out sooner. But as you know, both Floo and Apparation can be tracked down. So we need to get him out the fastest way other than those two options," Remus said, pausing as he allowed Draco to absorb in all the information he had been given.

"Flying," Draco concluded as he watched his former professor nod in confirmation. "And what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, if by some chance, Voldemort becomes aware of the day Harry is leaving, he will just kill everyone and then kill Harry. But if there were more than one Harry Potter, then he will have no choice but to split up his forces until he came to the conclusion as to who the real Harry was."

"Polyjuice potion?" Draco surmised. It was the only way you could duplicate a person and have it be a nearly flawless attempt. Of course you could magically enchant transfigured objects, but it would not be nearly as convincing as the potion.

"Right," Remus said grimly.

"He won't agree to that. If Potter, I mean if Harry is one thing, it's noble. If the choice was between his life and anyone else's, he would sacrifice himself first. He's such a Gryffindor in that sense," Draco warned.

"Yes, Hermione has already pointed that out to us, once we approached her with the plan," Remus said as he ran a hand through his aging hair.

"Hermione is going to be a part of this?" Draco demanded. "Couldn't you use anyone else?"

"We don't have a lot of man power. As it is, we need members to stay at the safe houses where a portkey will be. And on top of that, we need someone to fly with each Harry. That itself is about fourteen people."

Draco nodded mutely. He wanted to argue that Hermione should be kept safely in one of the houses, but he had already had that argument more than enough times to know what the outcome would be.

"And you want me to be one of the Potters?" he asked, straightforwardly. He assumed that it was where Remus was going with the conversation, and there was no point dancing around the subject.

"If you don't mind. We were going to use Fleur Delacour, but Bill is rather insistent that she doesn't go. While she may be a Triwizard tournament champion, her fiancé doesn't want anything to happen to her so close to their wedding day," Remus said.

Draco nodded, understanding Bill's predicament. It probably was worse for Bill, seeing how he and Fleur were at a far more advanced place in their relationship when compared to the nonexistent one between him and Hermione.

"And Draco, before you blindly agree, you need to be aware of all the facts. There will almost certainly be Death Eaters following your trail. And while that presents the threat of death, there is so much more to it than that. Remember, you are currently dead to the rest of the world. They don't all know exactly what happened, but as far as Voldemort is concerned, you made quite the valiant attempt before Snape got bored and finished off Dumbledore himself. We all trusted Snape; but we got rather lucky when he chose to leave you to die. And that probably satisfied Voldemort. But if the Death Eaters somehow find out that you're alive, then it could be dangerous to not only you, but both of your parents. You can be assured that if Voldemort somehow finds out that you're alive, he will torture your parents both in the cruelest, harshest ways possible," Remus warned him.

Draco let out a sharp breath. He wasn't exactly fond of his father, but that didn't mean that he wanted the man to suffer under Voldemort's wand. But at least his father was strong; he would be able to last quite a while before Voldemort managed to break him. His mother on the other hand, worried him quite a bit. She was a rather fragile woman, and she also thought he was dead; she probably was blaming herself for his untimely 'death' with each passing moment. Under Voldemort's wrath, she would crumble.

"And Draco, there is also a very, very good chance that your father or your aunt might be one of the Death Eaters trailing you. You would need to think very carefully about how you would react in that situation. They wouldn't know that it was you they were hexing, so you would have to fight them back."

Draco let all of this information settle in. It was definitely not a matter that could be taken lightly.

Draco took a deep breath before sharing his conclusion, "I'll do it. I've thought about all of this, but it doesn't matter. The number one concern is making sure Potter gets to safety, and if he dies before Voldemort, then we are definitely all screwed. So nothing else matters; not the fact that I may die for real, not that I may face my parents, and not that I will be exposed. So I really don't see any other solution. Besides, I said that I wanted to help bring Him down, and now that I can't act as a spy, I need to do my share of work. You can count me in for this," Draco concluded.

Remus gave him a grim smile, "I'm glad that we can count on you. And I know that you're not really and Order Member, so it's wonderful that you're so willing to join in. Besides, we wanted to induct you formally before the wedding."

Draco looked at him, confused, "I'm going to become and Order Member?" he asked. It shocked him just how welcomed he had been when he changed sides. One of his worst fears before turning to the Light was that he would still be thought of as scum, and forever associated as a Death Eater. And why would he want to have to endure that, even if helping a greater cause? But he had determined that it was more important to make sure Voldemort was brought to his demise so he wouldn't have to watch anyone else suffer from his wrath.

"You've done quite a lot for the Order, Draco. You helped over the fight at Hogwarts, and you gave us information about the attack on Diagon Alley. And on top of that, you're agreeing to help ensure Harry's safety, even though it jeopardizes you quite a bit. So yes, I think you deserve to be an Order member after that."

Draco was about to respond, but Tonks chose that moment to come over.

"Remus, are you ready to leave?" she asked, eyeing the conversation between the two.

Remus nodded as he stood up and straightened out his clothes. "Of course, shall we get going?" As Nymphadora turned to walk away, Remus looked over at Draco before saying, "Good luck with everything, I'll see you soon in a couple of days."

Draco shook his head in agreement, as he went to join his aunt and uncle to bid off his cousin and her newly wedded husband.

* * *

**A/n: **So this is a really late post, I know. But today is also my sister's birthday and I'm currently finishing this off after coming home from celebrating. So I'm sorry about the delay, but I hope it was worth the wait.

I know that the last few chapters may have seemed like fillers, but they were all building up for the 7 Potters scene. I wanted to write the wedding, as I probably won't write much about Bill and Fleur's, since JK did such an amazing job with it. And I know that the Dramione in this story has been building quite slowly. But don't worry, I haven't forgot about them, they will happen, I swear. And there will be several more moments that occur between the two of them.


	23. Saying Their Goodbyes

**Chapter 23**

Hermione stared at the picture on the top of her dresser. It was a picture of her, and her parents at her favourite place in the world, a beach near her house. She was about thirteen when it had happened, and about to enter her second year of Hogwarts. Her parents had both taken the day off from their job as Dentists and taken her out for a picnic. After lunch, they had walked along the shoreline, until they found some rocks up ahead. While she was never one for athletics, she loved to take walks with her parents. Together, they scaled the rocks (which actually weren't all that high). As they neared a place close enough to the water, her dad had offered to take a picture of her and her mom. However, a passerby offered to take it so he could be in the shot as well.

It was one of her favourite memories, and she knew that she would probably remember the event for the rest of her life. So as she continued to stuff her bag with anything and everything she could think of, she came to a frightening realization. It was a thought that had been tossing around in her mind for quite some time, but she only now understood what it meant. Her parents were probably going to be in danger.

She knew that she wasn't going back to Hogwarts the next year, and if Voldemort ever got control of the Ministry of Magic, she could be assured that her house would be one of the first that would be searched. And if her parents were found, then they would be executed on the spot; all because she would be helping Harry.

She could never hate him for what it meant for her parents. It wasn't his fault that a complete psychopath wanted to kill him. She loved him, and she would do anything for him. And even though that put her life in danger, so be it. But she would have to be careful and think of the repercussions of her actions. She would have to keep her parents safe from Voldemort. But she wasn't quite sure how they would take to the fact that they would have to uproot from their life and go on the run. She grabbed her wand and made her way down the stairs as she reached and unwanted conclusion.

As she made her way down, she saw her parents sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea and laughing over something that her father was telling her mum. When she walked into the kitchen, both her parents gave her a warm smile. But they instantly noticed that something was very wrong.

"What it is, Hermione?" Her mother asked with a kind, gentle voice, as Hermione sat down at the table. Her parents offered her some of the biscuits they had been eating, but she shook her head.

"There's something I need to talk to you guys about," she said as she took in a deep breath. Her father nodded for her to continue on. "You remember how I told you back a while ago how people made fun of me for my parentage? And I told you about my friend Harry Potter, who's famous because all those years ago he defeated a famous wizard, but how he returned a few years ago? Mum, Dad, it's gotten a lot worse, far worse than I ever let you believe," She said, as she started shaking.

"How much worse?" Her father asked her after a moments silence.

"They kill people like you and I. They believe us to be so bad that we need to be exterminated from the face of the earth," she said, as she felt herself calm down.

"Like the Holocaust?" Her mother said in a fearful voice. Her parents took Hermione's silence as a confirmation to the horrific truth she was revealing to them.

"Why are you telling us this now, Hermione?" Her father asked in a soft voice. "Something's changed hasn't it?"

"The bad people, the Death Eaters, are going to come after me," she said, her voice breaking.

"Oh sweetie, I'm sure you're not going to be the first target. You'll be safe; didn't you say that Headmaster of yours was one of the most brilliant people you've ever known? Surely he will keep you from harm?" Her mum said in a reassuring voice.

"He got killed," Hermione said flatly. "And trust me, it will be personal when they come after me. In fact, I'll be one of the first they come after. I'm not going back to school next year, I'm going to help Harry put an end to all of this," she informed her parents.

"The two of you are barely adults! I don't care if your world has a different legal age than ours; you're not old enough to go fight a war, Hermione. You have a government in that world; there has to be someone older that's capable of defeating them!" her dad said, losing his cool. "I won't let you put yourself in that sort of danger!"

"It's not your choice to make. It has to be Harry who does this; no one else can. And Harry needs Ron and I to stand by him and support him. I need to do this, for all our sakes," Hermione said, trying to keep her voice as leveled as possible. She knew it would be hard to explain everything to her parents, especially when they barely knew the half of it.

Her parents exchanged a look. "Hermione, we trust you. I don't want you having to go out there and fight, but you know that world better than us. If it were up to me, I'd ask you to leave it all behind. But you belong in that world, we all know that. And you'll never be happy if you aren't allowed to use your potential. So if you need to go fight that war then at least promise that you'll do everything in your power to stay alive," her mum said slowly.

"And keep those two boys safe while you're at it," he father said with a sad smile.

She felt two tears roll down her cheeks as she hugged her parents. Hermione was grateful to them for being so understanding of why she needed to do this. Mrs. Weasley was still pretending like the three of them were going back next year as if nothing had changed. She would be losing so much, and she couldn't afford to lose them too.

"I need to keep you safe before I go," she said after they separated.

"Are you going to put more charms on the house?" her mum inquired. As soon as she had turned the legal age, she had placed every single protection spell that she knew of on the house. But she knew that it wouldn't be enough if someone more powerful than the average Death Eater came after her family.

"No. I need to do something more. I need to get the two of you to leave here so you can be safe," she told them.

"You want us to leave everything behind; our home, our jobs, and our lives? How can you simply expect us to leave everything at the drop of a hat, like we are some sort of criminals to be on the run? I love you honey, but we can't leave it all behind," her mum said with her voice rising slightly.

"Please mum! You don't understand what they will do. They'll come in here, and tear the house apart while you watch. Then you'll be forced to watch as they torture the other one of you. When they have finally had their fun, they'll slaughter you without any mercy. And if you think I'm exaggerating then you've got another thing coming. That scenario is an actual report from what has happened before. And it will be worse for you. The torture won't just be for fun, but for information. And they won't stop until they have it, regardless if you know anything or not."

For the first time since she came down, her parents looked genuinely frightened of what Hermione was telling them. They nodded as calmly as they could, and together they reached a consensus.

Her father grabbed her mum's hand before speaking, "How soon do we need to leave?" he asked as her mother nodded in agreement.

"Leaving isn't enough, we need to change your identities," she said, shocked that they didn't put up more of a fight, but glad they were trusted her.

"Like using fake a ID? I don't think I like the sound of that too much. There's so much that could go wrong these days," her mother said warily.

"No, nothing like that," she said hastily. "I need to use magic on you to make you believe you're someone else. If you remained as Thomas and Jean Granger, then they will be able to find you. But if you truly believed you were someone else, then you'll be safe from them."

"So we'll forget who we are?" Her father said slowly.

"Yes."

"And we won't remember anything about our former lives."

"Yes."

"Including you." It was no longer a question, but a statement.

"Yes," she said, tears forming in her eyes. She blinked them back; the last thing she needed was for her emotions to get tied up in this.

"Will it be permanent?" her mother said in a near whisper.

"I can probably remove it after its safe. However, there's a small chance that it won't be undoable."

"How small of a chance is that?" Her dad asked.

"I don't know."

"If that's what you think you need to do. But promise that you'll try to find us again, so we can be a family again," Her mum said, as her father agreed.

"I'll miss you. I'll do everything I can to finish this war as quickly as possible, so we can be together again," Hermione choked out. She shed a few more tears before she spoke the spell that made the people she loved forget about her existence.

"Obliviate."

* * *

"I'll be fine, Aunt Andromeda," Draco reassured his aunt once more. She had been fretting constantly since she learned that he, Remus, and Tonks would be going to the dangerous mission to get Harry out of his home and to safety.

"Surely there has to be another way! Thirteen of you risking your lives, and not to mention Harry as well. What if something goes wrong tomorrow? What if one of you gets killed? Oh Merlin, there has to be some way that's safer than what you are planning!"

"Mum, you know as well as I do that there are no other ways. Apparation and Floo is out of the question, and we can't very well make a portkey from his house. Just its mere presence will alert every Death Eater in the near area," Tonks said as she rolled her eyes. She had returned from her honeymoon a day ago, and she had a sort of glow about her. Draco couldn't put his finger on it, but he settled for the fact that she was glowing with happiness. She placed a reassuring hand on her mother's shoulder.

"Just promise me that you'll be safe," she said as she turned her back to them.

"We will, Andromeda. And I will do everything I possibly can to keep these two safe from any sort of harm," Remus assured his mother-in-law.

"And Draco?" Andromeda called out as the three of them turned to leave. "I know that you're probably not coming back here after this, and that you're probably going to go off with Harry and do Merlin-knows-what. But Ted and I will always be here for you, and you can stay here anytime you want."

Draco felt his throat tighten as he nodded silently towards his Aunt.

One after the other, they stepped into the fireplace and flooed off to 12 Grimmauld place.

* * *

Draco scanned the room once he got out of the fireplace. He wiped the ash off of his pants as he saw the room filled up with people, some of which he knew, and some he didn't. He assumed that they were waiting for everyone to arrive before the official meeting began.

Kingsley was talking to Bill and Remus when he scanned the room, and they appeared to be having some sort of serious discussion. He guessed that it had something to do with the kerfuffle currently occurring in the Wizarding World.

He saw several other people as well, but none of them were who he was looking for.

He spotted Hermione talking to Weasley in a corner of the room. They were huddled off from the rest of the room, and talking in a secretive manner, so Draco guessed that they were talking about what they were going to do once they got Harry out from his house.

Hermione had a mature look on her face; like she just faced some sort of trauma that she was currently getting over. He frowned as he noticed that there was also sadness in her eyes. He would have to ask her about it and find out what had happened over the last month.

As he approached them, he heard bits of their conversation.

"The Ministry is slowly losing power. They have Imperiused most of the employees there, and it's only a matter of time before the entire infrastructure collapses."

"It was in the Prophet this morning that attendance at Hogwarts is now necessary."

"Have you decided what you're going to do? They'll assume that I've gone into hiding because of my blood, but you're still a Pureblood. Even if you are a _Blood Traitor_, they'll expect you to show up. And if you don't, they'll go after your family."

"I know; my father and I have been working on something that will give me a reason not to go back."

Suddenly, the two voices stopped as they saw Draco approaching.

"Malfoy," Weasley said cordially as he gave Draco a friendly nod.

"Draco," Hermione said, much more warmly. "How have you been? I'm sorry I haven't owled you much. Everything has just been so busy, especially these last few days…" She said, her voice trailing off.

"Weasley," he said, nodding back at the boy. "Hermione; I've been good so far. It was nice to be able to stay with my Aunt and her family. They were so welcoming, and I enjoyed getting to know them."

Hermione looked like she was about to say something in response, but their attention was called out at that moment.

"Oi, you lot!" Moody's gruffy voice carried out in the room. "I don't need to remind you how important it is that this goes perfectly. If even one of you lose your cool and give away that you're not Potter, you'll be killed on the spot. You all need to act as he would when put in a situation that you need to prove yourself. Anyone who thinks that they are incapable of doing this, leave now."

Moody paused and scanned the room. No one had even slightly filched when Moody had given them their final chance to get out.

"Good. Now that that's been taken care of, on to next business. If anyone doesn't know where their headed as their safe house, speak up now and I'll remind you."

Draco found himself about to say something, as Bill Weasley swooped beside him. "We'll be going to my Aunt Muriel's, Malfoy."

Draco nodded quietly. He began to tune of the rest of the details, as Remus had already gone over them before they had left Andromeda's place. Instead he began to focus in on Hermione.

She was listening in keenly to the instructions she was being given, even though he was certain that she had already heard all of this before and memorized every single detail. And while she was usually like this when it came to class and her studies, she seemed as if she was forcing herself to pay attention so that she didn't think of other things. He was curious, but knew that it was better not to pry. He barely had a friendship with her, and the last thing he wanted to do was push her limits.

As Draco tuned in again, he realised that Moody was bringing his meeting to an end. "I've already sent off two Order Members to get Potter's family to safety, and once they've gotten far enough from the house, then they will alert me. Once this has occurred, we will ride to his house and inform him of the plan," Mad-Eye concluded.

He noticed that the eldest Weasley beside him had a grim look. "I have a feeling that something is going to go slightly wrong," he said aloud.

Draco looked around to see if there was anyone else he could have been talking to. Once he realised that it was indeed him, he turned to face the ginger. He saw the Bill smirking once he realised Draco had been unsure of himself.

"From what Ron's told me, I definitely thought you would have been cockier," Bill said with a grin.

"I have my days," Draco said with a shrug. It was no secret that he and Weasley didn't get along when they were younger, so he knew that his family was bound to know that as well. "Stick around; maybe you'll get a glance."

Bill stared at him long and hard before breaking out into a roaring laughter. "I like you, Malfoy. I'm going to enjoy having you around to bug. Things tend to get a bit dull around here, and it will be nice to have someone to spice it up from time to time."

Draco found himself smile at Bill. He was definitely not what he had expected in a Weasley. He didn't mean that as if he expected them to be a poor, senseless lot; he had long learned that not to be true. But he thought that they would all be the same sort; turning him away, and expecting that he could not change.

He knew that it was Ron's personal prejudice as a result of the way Draco had treated him all for all those years, but he expected the Weasley's to all group together and shun him as a result of it. It felt nice that he would be able to start anew with the family.

He was about to say something back to the man he suspected was about to become a good friend of his, when Moody called their attention back to him.

"It's time to go. Everyone cast the Disillusion Charm and get ready to take off."


	24. The Fall

**Chapter 24**

As Draco walked into the muggle house, he could honestly say that he was surprised. This was the first time he had ever been in a muggle area, and it wasn't like he had expected it to be. He knew it was ignorant of him, but a part of him still thought that muggles had lived in some sort of prehistoric lifestyle. He had no idea how they were able to sustain themselves without magic, but he also had never cared enough to find out. Now he was slightly curious; he made a mental note to ask Hermione later

The house was middle sized, and similar to nearly every other house on the street. And looking at the appearance on the inside, it seemed to be fairly normal.

"The Dursley's enjoy 'normalcy'" Hermione whispered to him. She gestured to a closet under the stairs, "See that? That used to be Harry's room before they got too scared of him."

Draco did a double take. He knew that he muggles Harry stayed with hadn't treated him with the best of conditions, but to be forced to stay in that? It was pure monstrous.

Harry was waiting for them by time Draco had entered the sitting room. He was currently conversing with Tonks and Remus, on what he guessed was about their wedding, as his cousin was currently waving around her hand that contained her wedding band.

Draco walked over to where Hermione was standing. He knew that now wasn't the time or the place to have a conversation with her, but he had missed her quite a bit over the last few weeks, and a few minutes with her was better than nothing.

"So how are you?" Draco asked her in a soft manner.

Her hair was now tied up in a messy bun. She had a paler complexion from before, which Draco supposed to be the result of flying. He knew that she hated it, but really had no idea just how much.

"Good; Feeling a little sick, but good," she said as she took a deep breath. As colour slowly returned to her face, she turned to face him. "How has the last month been? I didn't really get to talk to you about it earlier. You were so worried before you left to go stay with your aunt, did everything turn out okay?" she asked him in a concerned voice.

Draco smiled at her. Before this moment, he really had no idea just how much it was that he missed her. "It was fine. Actually it was better than that, it was great. The atmosphere was a bit tense at first because nobody knew how to act around each other, but it was brief. It was nice getting to know my aunt, uncle and cousin," he said sincerely.

She grinned at him. "That's great Draco!" she exclaimed as she gave him a hug. He felt his heart beat faster, at the contact. "You probably got on well with Tonks too, didn't you? The two of you are rather alike, so I'd be surprised if you didn't."

Draco smirked at her, "Actually, we did. I like her; she's sarcastic and has the perfect amount of wit."

"I thought so," she said with a smile.

Before Draco could respond with anything, he heard a disagreement from across the room.

(A/n: there are going to be several lines from the DH but some are also my own)

"No. Absolutely not!" Harry said, furiously to Moody.

Draco rolled his eyes. Mood must have told him about the change of plans, and well it was safe to say that Harry didn't like the idea of using Polyjuice potion. Could someone say "I told you so?" Actually, it was a little sad if he had been able to predict Potter's actions better than the rest of them.

"I told them you'd take it like this," Hermione said knowingly, as she made her way over to Harry.

"If you think I'd let six people risk their lives-"

"Because it's the first time for all of us," Ron scoffed.

"This is different, pretending to be me-" Harry started again, before getting cut off once more.

"Well, none of us really fancy it, Harry," One of the Weasley twins said. "Imagine if something went wrong and we were stuck as specky, scrawny gits forever."

Draco watched, amused, as the Chosen One continued to try and fight the plan in place.

Finally, Draco stepped forward. "Look Potter, we're all taking risks. Hell, just being here is a risk. But we're willing to do so to protect you. You heard Moody; one way or another we are getting you out of here following this plan. So do us all a favour and save time by going along with it."

Harry looked over at him stunned. It was the first time Harry had seen him since he left before Dumbledore's funeral.

"Oh Bloody Hell. I should have known that they've included you on this plan as well. Who didn't you bring on this mission? Seriously, have you all considered the risks of pretending to be me; or even yourselves? What if one of you gets killed on this mission, then what? I'll be to blame for your deaths. And what if someone finds out about you Draco?"

"Every one of us here has had time to think about everything that could go wrong Harry, and we're all still here. So just go along with it," Draco said without hesitation.

"Time is on the essence Potter! If we're lucky, You-Know-Who will have followed the fake bait and will be waiting to ambush you on the 30th. But he'd be mad not to have a Death Eater or two watching over the house. Our only chance is to use decoys; even You-Know-Who can't split himself into seven," Moody snarled out in impatience.

Draco looked down at this. While he knew what Moody meant, the words still seemed like a double meaning. But no one but the four of them knew about Horcruxes.

As he looked back up, he watched a handful of hair get pulled from Potter's hair. He winced at the action, and could not say that he was envious of Harry at that moment. Harry dropped the hairs into the flask, and the potion immediately tuned a clear, bright gold.

"Ooh, you look much tastier than Crabbe and Goyle," Hermione said, before blushing as she realised the implication of her words.

Draco raised his eyebrows at this. He was tempted to know when she would have ever "tasted" Crabbe or Goyle, but he knew that now was not the time to ask her about this. He would have to ask her about that later. He couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at her words, but he pushed away those feelings.

As the potion made its way over to Draco, he found himself looking at the liquid. It seemed to smell alright, so he took a sip. Almost instantaneously, the effects took place. He found his body shrinking slightly, and his hair grow out. He turned to his left where a mirror was hanging on the wall and saw that he now looked like the splitting image of Harry Potter. As he turned back to the rest of the room, he saw that there were now six other Harry's occupying the room.

Moody began to go over quick details with Harry about what would be happening, as Draco turned to face Hermione. He knew it was her, even though she looked like Harry. "Be safe, Hermione," He said softly.

She smiled at him. "How did you know I'm me, Draco?"

"I just do," he said, trying to sound mysterious. In actuality, he could identify her by her sweet vanilla fragrance.

She squeezed his arm softly. "I'll do my best. And Draco, I want you to be safe as well. Promise me you'll return to the Burrow in one piece okay?" she said, worriedly.

He nodded. "I'll do my best."

"All right then," Moody said, interrupting the two of them. "I want all of us to leave at the same time, or the entire point of a diversion will be lost."

Draco squeezed her hand, before making his way over to Bill. They were in Potter's garden, where the two of them mounted brooms, waiting to kick off.

"Ready for this, Malfoy?" Bill asked him.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Draco said. In truth, he was worried. Not for himself, but for those around him. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to get hurt tonight.

"On the count of three," Moody yelled out. "One….two…THREE!"

Draco kicked his feet off the ground and was soaring through the air beside Bill.

"SO MALFOY," Bill yelled out to him. "YOU TELL GRANGER YET?"

**"**TELL HER WHAT?"Draco yelled back at him.

"THAT YOU LIKE HER." Seeing Draco get flustered, Bill grinned before replying. "WELL TELL HER SOON. AND REMEMBER MALFOY, HURT HER AND THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY"

"SHUT UP YOU TWO. IF ANY DEATH EATERS SHOW UP, THEN YOU'LL GIVE YOURSELVES UP!" Moody screamed out at the two of them. Seeing that Moody's safe house had a similar travel route for the first part of the journey, Moody and Mundungus were travelling with them.

Draco rolled his eyes as he continued to fly. He knew that they were nearing the edge of where the enchantment ended, but at the same time, he had an oddly cool manner about him. They were about 500 metres away from the border; 400, 300, 200, 100.

The second he crossed the edge, it was as if every Death Eater he had ever known his entire life, had been waiting there for them. He felt his heart sink as he realised that Voldemort didn't buy the bait that they had set for him. It meant only one thing; there was a traitor somewhere in the Order.

Immediately, his head began to race. Would they blame him for this? Would they think that he had been waiting all of this time to get closer to Harry as well as the rest of the Order, only to tip Voldemort off once he had gotten far enough in to learn their secrets?

"SOMEONE'S TIPPED THEM OFF!" Bill yelled out. But his voice did not have the slightest bit of accusation in it; so either he was an extremely good actor, or Bill Weasley believed that he was innocent. He knew that in the moment Bill was probably too concerned with the fact that they now had to battle several Death Eaters at the same time as fly to safety to even consider Draco to be the traitor, but he still felt better.

The Death Eaters were waiting in a line. While they had known that Harry Potter was being moved today; to Draco's relief, the look on their faces displayed that they clearly did not know that there were going to be seven Harry Potters being moved.

Unfortunately for The Order, the Death Eaters seemed to recover from their shock quite quickly. The large mass of Death Eaters split up so that several were on the trail of each Harry replicate. He could not make out who exactly was chasing him, as they were wearing their masks. Draco thanked Merlin that he was dressed as Harry for if anyone suspected him, he would be executed instantly on the spot.

The flight took an unexpected turn for the worst, when what Mad-eye suspected happened; Voldemort appeared. He had predicted that the strongest Death Eaters would go after him for he would be the most likely to keep Harry safe. Yet none of them expected to see Voldemort on the flight; and none of them expected to see him flying.

Yes, Voldemort was flying; without a broom or carpet. He was just flying as if he had some sort of superhuman ability to do so. There was no known spell that Draco knew of to achieve this, so it must have been some really dark magic.

Draco continued to throw hexes at the Death Eaters. Most of them appeared to be blocking away the spells, but every now and then he would hit a Death Eater. He was trying very carefully to use spells that Harry would use; it would defeat the purpose if he used a spell that Harry would have no way of knowing.

Moody was steering away from them. He was trying to lead Voldemort as far away from Bill and himself as possible. Several Death Eaters immediately broke off to go chase after them, and spells began to fly everywhere.

"Leave the boy! I will have his death!' Voldemort screeched out.

Draco looked over to see what was happening. He recognised the red colour of the Killing Curse fly out of Voldemort's wand, and it was aimed straight to where Mundungus was sitting.

He watched as Moody steered them away at the last moment; they were safe. Well, at least they would have been. Unfortunately for Moody, Mundungus didn't think he was going to survive, and to Draco's horror, he apparated.

"He's a fake!" Voldemort hissed angrily as he shot out the killing spell out at Alastor. Under normal circumstances, Moody should have been able to duck the curse easily, but he was too preoccupied at his sudden lack of companion.

Draco nearly convulsed as he watched the spell hit Moody straight in the chest, and knocked him off his broom. Immediately he began to change his course. He needed to save him!

"NO!" Bill yelled out at him. His faced had paled considerably at sight as well. "WE NEED TO KEEP OUR COURSE! IT'S TOO LATE FOR HIM!"

Draco knew he was right. So he trained his eyes back in front of him and continued to fly away. He knew that Voldemort would be chasing him next.

The hexes were now aimed for him specifically. He maneuvered carefully, to try and avoid every one of them. He may not have been as good of a seeker as Harry, but his Quidditch training had not been in vain.

"KILL HIM! LET ME KILL HIM!" he heard Voldemort yell out from behind him.

'Oh crap!' he thought to himself. He turned his head and threw back hexes. But he was no longer thinking about them. The only thing he knew was that he needed to get out of here alive, but he needed Voldemort to believe it he was Harry. If he was killed, then it wouldn't be as big of a deal as if Harry was. But if he were to die, his death must be held off for long enough for Harry to reach his safe home; so he had to keep flying.

"Conjunctivitis!"

"Incendio"  
"Stupefy"  
"Protegio"

Draco continued to yell out every and any spell he could think of before he turned to see the chase had slightly slowed.

"IT'S NOT HIM! HE'S NOT THE REAL POTTER!" He heard Voldemort hiss frustratedly.

How did he know? How could he have possibly known that he wasn't Harry? He used every possible spell that he could think of to make Voldemort think it was, so why hadn't it worked?

Voldemort disappeared, but that didn't stop three Death Eaters from still trailing them.

Draco didn't know what else to use. They already knew he wasn't Potter, so what was the harm in trying other spells? He began to fling out every and any spell he had learned over the years; at least the ones that weren't completely Dark Magic.

He managed to knock out one of the Death Eaters will Bill's help.

"Amittere Mentis!" He shouted out. He had learned that spell at a young age from his father, which had the ability to cause any one to lose their temporary state of mind. He knew that it probably would end up killing the Death Eater it hit, but this was war; there were going to be casualties.

He watched as the second Death Eater began to spiral downwards.

"NICE WORK!" Bill yelled out to him. There was only one more Death Eater left.

Bill cast a spell which hit the last Death Eater. It hadn't hit him off his broom, but Bill managed to unmask the Death Eater. He began to pale considerably when he realised who it was that was trailing them; his father.

Lucius Malfoy hadn't appeared to realise Draco was the false Potter, and hopefully he would be able to keep it that way. Draco continued to fly away from his father's spells. He knew he was getting closer to Bill's Aunt Muriel's house. He had been given the location of the spell prior to their flight so he was able to see the home. It was less than a kilometre away; he just needed to make it that far.

He would have to be careful from the spells he used from now on.

The house was coming closer and closer into his view. Bill was several metres in front of him, and the Weasley kept turning back to hit spells at his father. Personally, Draco hoped they all made their targets. The man may be his father by blood, but Draco held no emotion for him whatsoever.

Draco felt a stinging sensation square in the back of his head. He had been hit by one of his father's curses. He began to shake uncontrollably and lose his vision. He could feel the disguise slowly coming off. The broom began to droop downwards.

"POTTER!" Bill yelled out at him. He was glad that Bill hadn't slipped up, even though Draco had been injured.

He had been under the spell many times as a child, and had developed a quick recovery to it. Unfortunately, it had been a few years since the spell had been used on him, and he was out of practice.

He had almost nearly lost all consciousness before falling to the ground. Thankfully for him, he felt his body penetrate the border to Muriel's home. His father would not be able to get him. He watched his father's face whiten as Draco hit the ground. It was probably at the fact that he was no longer in reach to hit.

He closed his eyes as his body made a heavy impact with the ground. The yelling slowly began to subside as Draco began to slip away. He was surrounded by the darkness.

* * *

Narcissa Malfoy was sitting in her Library. She had barely left the room since her husband's return. He was colder, more distant, after losing his son. Figures he would be, he just lost his only heir. Lucius was now on some mission to try and kill Potter once more; but she knew how it would end. The Dark Lord was going to fail once more, and her family would be punished for it. She found that as the days wore on, she was slowly beginning to question every aspect of the life she was living.

The doors burst open and Lucius barged in. He began to cast several spells on the room to prevent anyone from hearing. He had no emotion on his face, so Narcissa couldn't tell what he was about to do. She began to shake slowly as he turned to her.

"Narcissa," he said urgently, as he grasped her arms. "I saw him. He's alive."


	25. Waiting

**Chapter 25**

Hermione hated waiting. Patience was one thing, like when she was waiting to go away to Hogwarts, or to be able to read her first book by herself. But waiting when the result could be bad, terrified her. She had never let anyone know that about her; not when she had lost her first tooth, and definitely not the time where she freaked out before receiving her OWLs the previous summer. She viewed it as a weakness, and she hated of anyone thinking anything less of her. It was one of the reasons why she pushed herself so hard in school, because she didn't want anyone to find a reason for her not to be there.

But out of all the waiting she had ever done in her life, this was probably the worst it had ever been. She had been one of the last to arrive. Harry was seated beside her, as Ron huddled over his brother's bedside. In the flight, George had his ear hexed off by dark magic. And that scared Hermione far too much. Because George losing an ear meant that injuries were sustainable in the journey. And like George's lost ear, it could be permanent.

She wiped away a tear as she shook at the thought. She knew that they weren't invulnerable to death; they had just lost Dumbledore after all. But if George's ear had been lost, then what about the people who hadn't yet made it to the Burrow? What about Draco?

Before she could continue to worry anymore about him, there was a flash of light in the backyard. Her heart began pounding in her chest as she ran out to see if it was Draco and Bill. She exited the house to see Bill. He had few scrapes, but a couple of cuts here and there. Her eyes scanned the yard for Draco, but as they landed on the body in Bill's arms, she felt her heart stop.

Was he, could he, be dead? She fell to the ground and began to shake uncontrollably. No, there had to be another explanation. She knew rationally, he couldn't be dead. Logically speaking, it made no sense for him to have been killed in the battle. If Draco had died, then how had Bill managed to bring him back to the house?

"Oh Merlin! Bill, what happened? Is Draco alright?" Remus demanded as he saw the eldest Weasley child.

"He was attacked by a Death Eater," Bill said as he rushed Draco inside and placed him on another couch. Almost immediately, Molly pushed through the gathering crowd and began to examine Draco.

"What spell did they use?" Molly asked her son.

"I, I don't know. I couldn't hear," Bill said shakily.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Hermione demanded him. "And why is no one doing anything? Why isn't anyone helping him? He's going to die! Oh Merlin, he's going to die, isn't he?" Hermione began babbling.

Harry placed an arm on her shoulder. "Hermione, you should come with me," he said directly to her.

"What? No! Harry, he's so badly injured and I could help! How could you possibly say I leave? I need to stay!" she all but shouted.

"Hermione, there's nothing you can do. You're going into shock, and you won't be able to do very much for him if you do," Harry said gently. "Come with me away from here, and we can help with other things.

She wanted to argue. She wanted to kick and scream like an infant until she got her way. But she knew he was right, as much as it pained her to admit. She would do no good standing over him as she watched the life slip out of him. So she allowed one of her oldest friends to guide her away from Draco. As she left the room, she watched Molly, Remus, and the other Order members bend over Draco's limp body. She could only pray that he would be alright.

Harry seated her down in the kitchen as he poured her a cup of tea.

"Drink," he said simply as he handed her the cup. When she was hesitant to take it, he gave her a pointed look.

She took the cup from him, and took a sip. She stared out at the wall in front of her, trying hard not to think about the boy in the next room. She hadn't even noticed she was crying until a few tear drops fell on the table in front of her.

"He'll be okay, Hermione," Harry said after a while.

"How can you know that, Harry?" she sobbed. "How can you know any of us will be okay?"

He made his way over to her side of the table and sat beside her. He placed his arm around her and brought her into a tight embrace as he let her cry out her tears.

"Because I have faith," he said simply. "This is a war, and there will be losses on both sides. But trust me when I say that Draco will not be one of them, Hermione. Hell, he's become too much a part of our lives that I fear we may never be able to get rid of him, even if we ever wanted too."

She laughed through her tears. "He's really one of us now, isn't he?"

"He was even before he knew it," Harry said as he tightened the grasp on her.

"And he'll be for a long time," a voice said from the door. Both Harry and Hermione looked up to see Ron standing there. But instead of the annoyed look he usually wore when he talked about Draco, he had an amused expression painted on to his face.

Ron sat on the other side of her, and placed his hand over hers. "Trust me, 'Mione, he's not going anywhere."

"I see someone's converted to Team Draco," Harry said with a smirk.

"What? No! I mean he's a decent guy, I'll admit," Ron said grudgingly. "But I don't have to like him!" he added quickly.

She let out another laugh as she watched her two friends jest back and forth, as she re-realized why she loved both of them so much. They had so much compassion when they wanted to, and were definitely the greatest friends anyone could have.

"Thank you," she said sincerely to both of them. "You two are so wonderful, and I don't know what I would do if I'd never met the two of you."

"You'd probably be in less danger, and wouldn't be missing your final year of education," Harry said somberly.

"Harry!" Hermione said in shock. He looked up at her with alarm at her tone. "How could you say such a thing? Would you really trade everything we have been through together, for me living a different life? And before your hero-complex kicks in, think about this; I'm a muggleborn, in case you haven't noticed. So I'm not exactly safe anyways," she said as she looked firmly into his eyes.

She knew how much he hated endangering other people, but one of these days he would learn that it was not his fault a psychopath had decided to make him a target as a child. One of these days, he would learn that he had friends who could care less about endangering their lives to help him, and help bring down that smug hypocritical bastard.

"My family's a bunch of blood traitors," Ron offered. "So we're not exactly the safest lot either."

Harry gave them both a weak smile. "Well that's what friends are for, I guess."

Hermione took her turn to wrap her arms in a tight embrace over Harry's shoulders. "And we're with you until the very end, Harry."

"Always," Ron added as he gave Harry a smile, before Hermione pulled him into the hug.

"Uhmp," Harry said, in a muffled tone. "Guys…can't….breathe…"

Hermione took a quick second to appreciate the moment between the three of them, before ending the hug.

"Seriously, the two of you are awful sometimes," Harry grumbled, as he struggle to hide the smile creeping into his face.

Hermione bumped shoulders with him as she flashed him a smile, and Ron let out a hefty laugh.

She sat back with her two friends as she talked to them both. She wasn't sure how many hours had passed as the three of them talked about anything and everything. But every so often, she still found her mind slipping back to the boy in the other room. The room had been silenced so she could not even hear what any one was saying about it. All she knew was that they were doing everything and anything possible. So she continued to sit and talk to Ron and Harry about meaningless and light topics, as she did the thing she hated most, she waited.

* * *

"I can't believe that Moody's gone," a male voice spoke.

"I can't believe that that rat, Mundungus left him to die. Wait, scratch that, I actually can believe he would do such a thing. He's such a coward," another boy said furiously.

"When I find him, I swear I'm going to kill him," the first boy replied.

"He didn't want to be there, and he was scared. He did what anyone in his place would have done," The girl defended.

"No, anyone of us would have stayed. Anyone of us would have died!" The second boy said.

"Don't say things like that! We've already lost so much, I can't lose either of you too," the girl said again.

There was a pause before one of them let out a sigh.

"He's been out for a while. Do you think he's alright? They said that the major damage had been fixed, but what if something went wrong? What if that's why he's not up yet?" the girl worried, as she stroked his face.

"Mrs. Weasley said he would be out for a couple of hours. Just wait for a little while longer, and he should be up."

Draco felt himself slowly slip back into the world of the living as he listened to the voices around him. He enjoyed the feeling of Hermione's warm hand on his face, but knew that it was time for him to get up. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

"Morning," he said groggily. Almost immediately, they jumped as the Golden Trio's eyes landed on his conscious self.

Glancing briefly at the clock, he saw that it was the early hours of the morning. The trio were in their pyjamas, but from their tired faces, Draco guessed that they hadn't had much sleep. As he sat up, he noticed that he was covered in bandages, and quickly remembered that his own father had hexed him. Of course, his father hadn't known it was him at the time, but that didn't put him in any less pain.

Next thing he knew, Hermione had launched herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and began to sob softly.

"You stupid, careless, reckless, person," she cried out as she held him tightly. "Do you have any idea how much you worried me? I thought you died."

He wrapped his arms around her petite body. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"I thought you died, Draco!" she repeated.

Unsure of what to do, he began to stroke her hair. He noticed both Harry and Ron watching the two of them with amusement. Harry elbowed Ron, and silently the two of them left the room.

Draco loosened his grip on her, so he could look at her. Her eyes were puffy and her face tearstained. He used his hand to gently wipe away her tears. He tucked a strand of curls behind her ear and cupped his hand around her cheek. She was looking down away from him, and it nearly killed him to see so much pain in her eyes.

"Hey, look at me," he said softly. When she didn't look up, he used his hand to gently raise her face until his eyes met hers. "Hermione, I'm alright, I promise. I am so sorry that I worried you so much, and I never meant to. If I knew how much pain it would have put you through, I would have tried even harder not to get hurt. But I'm here now, and I'm fine. And that's all that matters. I'm safe, we both are."

She nodded and struggled to put a smile on her face.

"You have no idea how scared I was. Seeing your body, so limp and lifeless, it was horrible. I began to wonder what would happen if you never woke up, and what I would do without you. Merlin, Draco it was absolutely awful. It made me worry about all the things I never said to you, and then how I may never be able to tell you. And I like you so much, to the point where I may even love you, even though I still barely know you. I know how stupid that sounds, trust me, but I-" she rambled before getting cut off.

Draco pressed his lips against hers without a second thought. He nearly exploded the moment she said she had feelings for him, and the only thing he could think of was how badly he wanted her, and how he wanted her now.

She seemed surprised at first, but she didn't hesitate to kiss him back. Her lips were soft and tender; full of innocence and sweetness. There were no words to describe the rush of emotions he was feeling.

As they finally pulled apart, he searched her face for any signs of regret or disgust. When he saw none he said, "I like you too, Hermione. I care so much for you, so much more than I though was possible."

"Ron, you can't just go back in there randomly! You should be knocking," Ginny scolded her brother as the he entered the room. He stopped suddenly as he saw Hermione wrapped up in Draco's arms.

"What if you interrupt- oh!" Ginny said with a squeal as she saw the two of them together. She flashed Hermione a knowing smile before glaring at her brother. "Come on Ron, we should leave," she said pointedly.

"You go without me. I have something I need to say to Hermione and Malfoy," Ron said with an undistinguishable tone.

"Ron," Ginny said warningly.

"I'll be there in a moment, Gin, promise," he said, without taking his eyes off the two of them.

Ginny hesitated before she left the room.

"Ron-" Hermione started, trying to explain.

Weasley held up a hand, "I don't want to hear it, nor do I think I'm entitled to hear it. Hermione, I care for you, but I also respect you and your choices. If he is what you want, then you don't need to defend yourself. But if he hurts you, then I will kill him, and so will Harry, Ginny, and every other Weasley."

Hermione smiled at him. Weasley had grown up so much over the past couple months, and Draco knew she was proud of him.

"Thank you, Ron," She said genuinely.

He nodded at her, before look at the two of them. "Keep in mind that there is still a war going on. Things change and people get lost. So if you want whatever you two have to work, you're going to have to fight for it," Ron said wisely before turning to leave the room.

Draco looked to Hermione, "When did he become so smart?" he asked, as he raised his eyebrows.

Hermione hit him playfully, "He's always been pretty smart," she defended. When Draco gave her a look, she sighed before replying, "I guess pretty recently. But on a brighter note, I think he just approved of us," she said with a smile.

"Us?" Draco asked her curiously.

She got flustered, and turned slightly red. "Oh! Sorry, I just assumed, with the kiss, I uh-"

He cut her off before she could get any more red. "I didn't mean it like that Hermione. I just like hearing you say it," he said as he kissed her fingers.

She smacked his chest lightly again, but quickly recoiled as he winced in pain. "Oh Draco, I'm sorry!" she squealed as he raised a hand to his chest.

"It's okay, just a bit sore."

"I probably should go before I injure you any more than you already are. Besides, it's late. You should get some sleep," she said as she stood up.

"Hermione, wait!" he called out for her, as he grabbed her wrist.

"What?" she asked, as she turned to face him again.

He pulled her body in near his, as he placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "Goodnight," he said with a smile.

"Goodnight," she said back, breathlessly, before walking out the door soundlessly. He pressed his fingers to her lips and could still feel her on them.

As he watched her leave, he closed his eyes and felt himself get pulled back into the deep slumber.

* * *

"Lucius, what are we going to do?" Narcissa asked her husband. They were still in the library, but were no closer to having her son back.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? What if he's hurt? Oh Merlin, I'm his mother. I should have known he wasn't dead. What kind of parent am I?" she cried out softly.

She felt her husband place his hand on her shoulder. "Cissa, he's going to be alright. But we don't know what's happening. We don't know if he joined up with the Order by choice, or if he's being forced. So we can't do a single thing until we know more."

"And what happens until then? I'm sorry, Lucius, but once I get my son back, I refuse to let him serve that, that _thing_ any longer. Did you see his expression when he found out Draco was dead? He was smug! That bastard was smug that my poor son was dead! And if you wish to serve him still, then I'm leaving you Lucius. I've had enough of that man ruling my life."

"And you think I haven't? But Narcissa, think of this logically. We can't just go barging down the Order's door and demand our son back. If the Dark Lord doesn't even know where they are, how could we possibly find out? We need to play our hand wisely. And if we're lucky, we can all get out of this unscathed."

"And then what, Lucius?" Narcissa demanded her husband. "Even if we make it out of this, I don't know if things will ever be the same between the two of us. We've been so separate for so long, how can we put everything behind us?"

"Because I love you Narcissa, and I promise to make everything right. But for now we have to wait."

Narcissa nodded. "Okay."


	26. The Will of Albus Dumbledore

**Chapter 26**

For the amount of effort Draco had put into helping with Tonks and Remus' wedding, one would think that he would be used to it. But it seemed as if the wedding Bill and Fleur were having was far, far more elaborate. Even with the number of people helping with the wedding, Draco was lucky if he could get a moment to himself; well one that was alone for him and Hermione together.

Their dynamic had changed significantly since the two of them shared their first kiss a few weeks ago. At first they had both been shy by each other and at first they avoided each other. But after a while normalcy arose when they were co-assigned the task of weeding the yard. He was pleased to find that the two of them began to get comfortable around each other, but Draco was worried that things would return to their previous platonic state. And that was place he couldn't handle returning to, not when he had such strong feelings for Hermione.

Thankfully enough for him, when she sprayed him with a burst of water from her wand, he had chased her around the yard until he had her pinned against a tree. When he realised the compromising position that they were in, he blushed, but to his shock, she had kissed him gently.

He smiled at the memory as he helped Mrs. Weasley create a seating plan for the wedding that would result in the least amount of family drama. It was a task that would keep him occupied for the next few hours, and prevented him from going and finding Hermione. He sighed as he began to listen to the matron rant about which person couldn't stand which family member. It was going to be an extremely long afternoon.

* * *

"I know what you guys said in the past, but I'll understand if you don't want to come with me."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry, Ron, and she were currently locked away in Ron's room. The two of them had given him his birthday presents in private, as he had finally turned 17. They knew that everyone had given him things that morning, but there were also a few things they wanted to discuss with him. It had been so hard to get a moment of privacy for them to discuss their plans for after the wedding. Ron had suggested that his mother had purposefully done so, hoping to delay any plans that they were conjuring up for after it was all over.

Harry was rather pleased that he could now use magic unattended, but his bright mood seemed to spoil now he was facing reality once more.

"Harry, you know we're not going to abandon you; not after everything we've been through," Ron said surprisingly patiently. "Come with me, I need to show you guys something." He stood up suddenly and gestured for the two of them to follow him.

"Where are we going?" she asked her friend, confused at his random spontaneous actions.

"You'll see," he said mysteriously as he used his wand to cause a flight of staircase to descend from the ceiling.

Curiously, she climbed up the stairs. As she made it to the top, the first thing she saw was probably one of the foulest creatures she had ever seen in her entire life.

"What is that thing?" Harry asked, while trying to hide the disgust from his face.

"Me," Ron said simply.

"Uh Ron, I hate to break it to you, but that thing looks absolutely nothing like you," Hermione said, trying not to sound offending.

"I know that! It's something Dad and Bill helped with. When I don't return to Hogwarts this year, the Ministry is going to come looking for a reason. You know how attendance is mandatory this year. Well if I have Spattergoit, then it's enough of a reason for me not to return. Spattergoit is really contagious you see, so the Ministry officials won't come close enough to figure out that it's not really me," Ron explained calmly. The three turned and headed back to his room.

"And what about you, Hermione? Won't they go to your parents when you don't return?" Harry asked her curiously.

She felt a pang in her chest that she had been trying to forget. Well what better time to tell her friends right?

"Most muggleborns aren't returning this year. It's not really safe now that Dumbledore isn't there," she said evasively.

"And if they go after your parents?" Ron asked her.

"They won't find anyone. My parents are gone."

"Gone? Gone where?" Harry asked her carefully.

"To Australia."

"Your parents agreed just to pack up and go?" Ron asked her as he raised a brow. She didn't really blame them for pushing, after all she had said previously that there was no way that her parents would just up and leave her behind.

Hermione took a deep breath before beginning, "They were hesitant, but once I explained the risks, they understood. But it would be dangerous for them if a Death Eater found out they had a witch daughter. But Wendell and Monica Wilkins don't have any children," she finished quietly.

Realisation seemed to dawn upon them. "You modified your parents memories," Harry said softly.

"Yes," she said, as a few tears streamed down her face. They were the only people she had told about this, and it felt good to have someone else know as well.

"I'm sorry you had to do this for me," Harry said sadly, taking the blame.

"Harry!" she said, shocked. "I didn't tell you this to blame you! They agreed to do this. And to tell you the truth, I probably would have done the same thing regardless of you."

He gave her a weak smile.

"I also had something to ask the two of you," she began nervously.

"What?" Ron asked her.

"I know that we planned for the three of us to go alone on this, but I've been thinking about that. Draco knows a lot about the Wizarding world, and somehow it seems wrong to leave him on the sidelines after all of this time," she said. She had no idea how the boys would react to her sudden proclamation, but she couldn't leave him alone. Even though she cared about him deeply, it was more than that. She felt safe with him, and she trusted him. And deep down, she knew that he was their best bet to help bring down Voldemort.

"I agree," Harry said, much to the shock of both Ron and Hermione.

"Seriously?" Ron demanded.

Harry shrugged, "Like you said, he knows things that we don't. And after everything, if there's one person I trust other than the two of you, it would be him. And he's one of the few others who know about the Horcruxes so he could help us there."

Hermione hugged Harry tightly. But she knew he wasn't the only one she had to convince. She looked at Ron to see what he would say.

"I don't know…" he said hesitantly. "Three of us is already a lot when we're on the run, but to have four? It's rather hard to be discreet with four people."

Hermione gave him a pleading look. "Please, Ron? Think about how much it could help us. He knows a lot because of how he was raised and more people mean less work per person," she said, adding in that last part because she knew how much he hated chores.

Sure enough, that last part seemed to swing him, "Fine," he said, throwing his hands in the air. "But if something goes wrong, then I get the right to say 'I told you so'."

"Done," she said with a smile as she hugged him.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Hermione pulled away from her friend as she opened the door and saw Draco on the other side.

"There you three are! Your mother has been looking everywhere for you Weasley!" Draco grumbled as he entered the room. "I can't believe you three left me out there to do all that work. Just cause it's your birthday Potter, does not give you the right to skive off work."

Hermione smiled at him, before placing a chaste kiss on his lips. She still felt a tingly, but extremely brilliant sensation course through her veins as they made contact. "I'm sorry, Draco. Does this make it better?"

She noticed he had to work hard to keep the smile off his face. "Maybe."

She kissed him again, except it was a bit longer this time.

"Ahem," a cough sounded behind them. Sheepishly the two pulled a part to see Ron and Harry giving them both a pointed look.

"Anyways, happy Birthday, Potter," Draco said. "I don't have anything for you, seeing that I've been as housebound as you lately."

"Thanks Malfoy, don't worry, I completely understand. Besides, we were just talking about you," Harry declared, resulting in a confused look from Draco.

Quickly, the trio filled him in on the plan at hand, and how they wished for him to join them in their mission.

He was speechless, "Oh…wow, I don't know what to say. You really want me to come with you?"

"Well, it took quite a bit of convincing on Hermione's part but we finally came around," Harry joked.

She elbowed him. "We all agreed that it would be better if you came with us. After everything you've done for us so far, I couldn't imagine leaving you behind."

Draco wrapped his arms around her. "I'd love to come then," he whispered into her hair.

"Again, still in the room," Ron grumbled.

"Maybe you should leave then," Draco joked, earning him a light slap from Hermione.

Ron shot him a glare, but it did not have the same malice it once held. Before any of the four could say anything else, there was a knock on the door. As Hermione opened it, she saw Mrs. Weasley on the other side.

* * *

Draco peered out to see who was at the door.

"There you lot are! I've been searching everywhere for the four of you. Do you have any idea how much work we still need to do? Oh never mind that now, there's some one here to see you three," Mrs. Weasley said.

Draco noticed that she ended the sentence with one less than she started with.

"Us there? Do you mean Harry, Ron and I?" Hermione asked the lady.

"Well yes, and someone named Scorpius White, but I don't suppose he's here, now is he?"

Draco's head snap up at the name. "Actually, that's me," he said, confused.

Hermione turned to face him. "Scorpius White?"

_It was a few months into before Dumbledore's death. Draco had received a note that the Headmaster had wanted a few words with him, but had no other information about why he was there._

"_You asked to see me, Sir?" he said, announcing his presence._

_Dumbledore was crouched over his desk, writing rapidly on a piece of paper. As he noticed Draco's presence, he waved his hand over the scroll and the parchment vanished._

"_Ah, Draco! Sit, sit. As you know, there will be a time when Draco Malfoy will be dead. In that time, when needed, you will need to take up an alias so that no one catches on. I have asked you here today to discuss that name that you shall take for yourself."_

"_Does it need to be right now? Can't I just make one up spontaneously?" Draco asked, confused. _

"_Why wait until the moment desires it, when it can be taken care of in advance?" Dumbledore said._

"_Okay…."_

"_Excellent! I was thinking that because your mother's maiden name was Black, you could use the surname of White," He said._

_Draco nodded, it made sense but it wasn't revealing._

"_I'll let you choose your first name then," Dumbledore said, nodding as he gestured for him to pick a name._

"_Scorpius." _

"_Excellent. Now that it's all settled, you may return to your evening," Dumbledore dismissed. _

_As Draco turned to leave, he noticed the parchment had reappeared upon Dumbledore's desk, and the Headmaster was once again scribbling quickly._

"It's an alias," Draco explained. "Dumbledore and I planned it out for a time when I'm supposed to be dead.

"I get the White, but why Scorpius?" Hermione asked him.

"I liked the name," he said with a shrug. "I always figured that I'll probably name my son that one day." He noticed that her cheeks turned a faint pinkish colour, and subconsciously started to feel heat rush to his face as well.

"Well, then you should come too, Draco. But you should probably disguise yourself first. The last thing you want is for the Minister of Magic to know that you're alive," Mrs. Weasley said, as she waved her wand at him. As he turned to see his reflection, he noticed that his pale hair was now dark black, and his grey eyes were now a brown. His skin was no longer it's pale self, and was now a bit more coloured. In other words, he no longer looked like himself.

"You look…nice," Hermione said carefully.

"Nice?" Weasley said with a snort. "He no longer looks like he's about to die from some sort of illness, if that's what you mean."

"Stuff it, Weasley," He growled out.

Hermione linked her arms through his. "I don't care what you look like, as long as you're still you," she said tenderly, as they proceeded to make their way to the sitting room.

Waiting for the four of them was a middle aged man with a shrewd expression. His brown hair was shoulder length and held a mixture of grey streaks slowly declaring their presence. He knew that this was the man who had replaced Fudge. Hopefully, it would be a change for the good.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," The man said, as he stood up to greet them. His eyes overlooked all of them, but frowned once they reached his. "And you are?"

"Scorpius White," Draco said simply.

"I…see," he said with a frown. "And do you have any way to prove that you are who you say you are?"

"I take it that my word is not enough," Draco said with a pause. "May I know first why I need to prove my identity?"

"Albus Dumbledore has left behind a will."

"And why are we only hearing about this now? It's been over a month since Dumbledore's death!" Harry all but shouted.

"There were certain procedures in place that had to have happened first," The minister said, full of authority.

Draco knew right away what he was saying.

"You were inspecting them!" Hermione said with a gasp.

"So why give it to us now?" Harry asked, still confused.

"Because it's been 30 days. It's ministry policy that if they cannot find any proof of dark magic in that time, then they have to release the contents!" Hermione said, as she shook her head in disgust.

"You think Dumbledore would actually leave us something dark? Or is it not about that?" Harry said. "You're trying to find out what Dumbledore wants me to do, aren't you?"

"Well, it is curious. And I have told you that you may utilize the Auror department as much as you'd like. You just need to make a couple of appearances every once in a while," Scrimgeour said. It sounded like the two have had this argument before.

"No," Harry said shaking his head. "My answer and my reasons have not changed. Now, may be get on to the will?"

"We shall, as soon as your friend proves he is who he says he is, so he can receive his inheritance."

Draco almost gasped; Dumbledore had left him something? That was certainly a surprise.

Draco shook his head. While he had no identification that could be useful, he knew what he had to do. "Isn't it simple? Read out the will and once it's my turn, once you read out what I am to receive then it will appear. If I am someone else, then nothing will appear."

Scrimgeour knew he was right, but didn't seem satisfied with the answer.

"White isn't an old family name, now is it?" he pried.

"No, but I'm a half-blood. My father was a muggle, but he's passed on," Draco said, as he had previously rehearsed.

"I…see," the minister said again in that tone that seemed none too pleased with his answers.

"Can we get back to the will?" Harry asked impatiently.

The minister removed a scroll from a drawstring pouch and began to read. "_To Ronald Bilius Weasley, I leave my Deluminator, in hope that he will remember me when he uses it." _From the same bag he pulled out a small silver rectangular object and handed it to its new owner.

"This is rather valuable. Do you have any idea why he would have left it to you, out of the thousands of students he's taught in his lifetime?"

"To put out the lights, I suppose. What else could I do with it?" Ron mumbled, but did not break eye contact with Scrimgeour.

"To put out the light," the Minister echoed, sounding like he didn't believe the boy.

"_To Miss Hermione Jeam Granger, I leave my copy of _The Tales of Beedle and the Bard, _in hopes she will find it entertaining and instructive,"_ he read, as he handed her a book. "Why Miss Granger, do you think he left you a book."

"He knew I like to read," she said, as a tear fell down her cheek. He was tempted to wipe it away, but knew he couldn't in present company.

"But why _that_ book. Did the two of you discuss passing secret messages?"

"N-no. I just really like to read, and I'm a muggleborns, so I don't know a lot about wizarding tales. He must have thought I would find it entertaining."

"Hmm," he said, sounding disappointed again,

"_To Harry James Potter, I leave the snitch he caught in his first Quidditch match at Hogwarts, as a reminder of the rewards of perseverance and skill," _he said. "Why do you think he left you this snitch?"

"For whatever you just said, I suppose, perseverance and skill."

"So only as a keepsake? I wonder, I notice that your birthday cake is also in the shape of a snitch," Scrimgeour pointed out.

Hermione laughed. "Yes, because Dumbledore left him a message in the icing. Forget the fact that Harry is a brilliant Seeker, nope, it must mean something more."

"I didn't say that," Scrimgeour snapped. "But a snitch is a great hiding spot is it not? Because they have flesh memories, as I'm sure Miss Granger knew all about."

She looked down. As Draco looked at the snitch, he realised that it was the one he had secretly been hoping Potter had choked on seven years ago. Harry reached out to take the snitch, and Draco watched, his heart beating rapidly. As he made contact with the snitch, they all watched in anticipation, however nothing happened.

"Well that was anticlimactic," Harry said coolly.

"There's something else, Potter. But I'm afraid you cannot receive your second bequest."

"What is it?" Hermione said impatiently.

"The sword of Godric Gryffindor. But it was not Dumbledore's to give away. Now why would he give that to you? Does he think that you can use it to defeat the Heir of Slytherin?"

Draco almost burst into laughter at that last part, but held it in.

"I pulled it out of the sorting hat," Harry said, keeping the cold exterior on his face. "And what a wonderful idea, I've had it wrong all this time. I should have just thought of stabbing Voldemort with the sword, would have saved everyone a lot of time, really."

Scrimgeour gave him a glare. "Anyways, _To Mr Scorpius White, I leave to you my loyal bird, Fawkes, in hopes that it will continue to help him light the way of those he loves."_

Draco let out a gasp, he had received the phoenix? What did that mean?

The five of them waited, as the golden bird appeared suddenly and flew over Draco before landing in his lap. Fawkes cooed as it shook it's feathers and settled where it was,

"There you go, Minister. Now, if that's all. I have a party to return to," Harry said, as he exited the room.

Everyone cleared out, as Draco continued to stare at the bird in front of him, wondering what Dumbledore had meant, by leaving him the creature.

* * *

**A/N: **Ohh aren't Draco and Hermione getting cosy? I know I didn't talk a lot about Harry's birthday, but I liked how that was in the book so I didn't want to change or add anything to that. And thank you all so much for the reviews; I'm glad you all liked the Hermione and Draco scene in the previous chapter.


	27. Interruptions

**Chapter 27**

Theodore splashed the cold water from the river onto his face. He had been camping out in this forest for the last few weeks, and knew it was only a matter of time before he was found here as well. He had been keeping his guard up for so long, that he had yearned to just for once sit and relax. He wanted to go into London and grab a couple of Firewhiskeys and chug them down until he lost all reasoning thoughts. He wanted to just sleep in till the sun was high in the sky and more than half the day had passed. But it wasn't possible; one false move and everything he had been trying to avoid would catch up with him.

But being on the run didn't mean he was out of the loop with current events. He knew that Dumbledore had been murdered. He knew that meant his best friend, the one Theo and Blaise had been attempting so hard to help protect, had been the one who engineered the entire scheme. Draco was dead to him, both figuratively and literally. He couldn't help but feel remorseful when the news of his former friend's death had reached him, even though they had not been close for a long time. But he had grown up with Draco. They had spent eons together as they learned about the world and their place in it. The three of them, Blaise, Theo, and Draco, had formed a pact together as a young age that they would always be there for each other.

'_And look where we are now,' _Theo thought bitterly. '_I'm on the run, Draco is dead, and Circe knows what's happening to Blaise.'_

He heard a branch break behind him, and he instantly froze. Had he been found? He slowly turned around to see a scruffy haired man behind him. His clothes were torn and his body covered in cuts. He appeared to be in his late thirties.

"Why are you here?" Theo demanded. He still had not determined if the man was a friend or foe.

"I mean you no harm. I simply came to get a drink of water. It has been a few days since I found a body of water, and I was getting desperately thirst. Please, let me just drink some, and I'll be on my way," he said in an exhausted tone.

Theo relaxed slightly. The man appeared not to have enough physical strength to cause him any damage. He nodded and he gestured to the water with his hand.

"Take as much as you need, I was just leaving anyways," Theo said. He rose and turned away. He knew it could have been unwise to turn his back to a potential enemy, but he did not feel endangered.

"Wait! Please."

Theo turned around to see the man desperately looking at him, "What is it?"

"I-I just…I was wondering if you wanted to join up with me. I have no idea how to survive out here, and you clearly do," the man said in a pleading tone.

"And how do you know you can trust me? For all you know, I could be a Death Eater; it is them you're running from is it? Seems a bit foolish to me," Theo said as he made his way over to the man once more.

The man paled at his words. Theo shook his head, this man would probably slow him down considerably and there was a good chance that it would be because of him that he was caught. But he knew he would regret it if he left the man out here; he would surely be dead within the week. Merlin, he felt like such a bloody Gryffindor, feeling so loyal and noble. What was happening to him?

With a sigh he spoke, "Fine, you can join up with me." As he continued to see hesitancy in the man's eyes he said, "I'm not, but the way; a Death Eater. It's the whole reason I'm on the run, because I didn't want to become one." He it was better to tell him this now, for once the man learned his name, there would be immediate distrust.

Theo saw all signs of worry fade from the elder man's face.

"I'm Theo, by the way. Theodore Nott."

There was a flicker of registration in the man's eyes. Clearly, he knew Theo's father and his associations.

"I see. Well, I guess I know why you're out here then. It's nice to meet you, Theo. I'm Dirk Cresswell."

* * *

Draco watched feeling bored as the groom tied his bow. Bill's entire outfit for his wedding was in no way extravagant, as Draco had often seen in the weddings of High Society, where one's wealth and influence can be determined in something as simple as attire. But it did not appear to be such a case in the Weasley clan. To them, the wedding was about happiness and being around the ones you love. It seemed so different than what he was used to, and while he enjoyed the classiness of upper class weddings, he had to admit that there was something homely about being surrounded by ones you care about.

He thought about Hermione, who even though was a bit annoyed by being ordered around, seemed to be extremely excited about the upcoming event. She had spent the morning animatedly helping with all the last minute touch ups. Weddings had a way of making even the most sensible of women into complete saps.

But he had to admit, he was excited to see how she had dressed up. He had overheard her and the female Weasley girl talking about outfits with smiles on their faces. Of course he hadn't been paying attention to what they were saying, and even if he had, Draco had a feeling he wouldn't understand much of their rambles about their attire. Yet he could not help but smile at the way her face lit up when she talked animatedly to her friend.

"Malfoy," a voice said snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Bill waving a hand in front of him. "Seriously, if you're going to be zoning out like this, you might as well go sit by Great Aunt Muriel. She'll think you're listening and happily ramble on for hours."

Draco glanced around the room, and saw it to be empty except for the two of them. It seemed that the rest of the males who had been in here a second ago were long gone.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about things," Draco said awkwardly as he rose to leave.

"Or a certain lady you seem to have gotten quite familiar with," Bill said with a smirk, and Draco felt a slight amount of colour rise in his cheeks.

"No, I wasn't… I mean I was, but…well I was-"

Bill laughed. "Don't worry about it kid. I already know what you were probably thinking about. I was young once too. I still remember the first time I met her; it literally felt like all the air had been knocked out of me and I had been frozen in my spot. When she walked by me, she gave me a soft smile and I thought I was done for," Bill said as reminisced the moment.

"And how did you know you wanted to marry her?" Draco asked curiously.

Bill gave him a smile, "It just comes to you. There's always this moment of clarity when you realise that there is no one else in the world that you would want to spend your entire existence with. You realised that the person is one you want to make memories with, you want to hold them tight and protect them from all the dangers in the world, and you want to have them by your side through every high and low point in your life."

Bill broke from his trance and gave Draco a nudge. "Now we should go; my mother would have my head on a pike if I were late to my own wedding," he said as he ushered Draco out of the room.

As he were about to make his way down the stairs, he noticed Hermione exiting her room. When he had seen her earlier, she was still dressed casually, as she hadn't wanted to ruin her wedding clothes through all the manual labour she had been required to do.

However, now she was completely dressed up. His breath hitched as he saw her wearing a knee length dress, in an elegant royal red colour, with a matching set of heels. Her hair was half up, and her hair was in smooth curls down her back. In short, she was stunning.

He had thought she looked amazing at the Yule Ball, and had he not been the person he used to be, he would have been tempted to kiss her right there and then. But now, he settled for making his way over to his stunning date, and placed a kiss upon her lips.

"I take it you like my outfit?" she teased him with a smile.

He growled. "You have no idea just how beautiful you look at this moment. If it were up to me, I'd get us to both skip the wedding, so we can snog for hours."

She blushed at his words. "Yes well you're just going to have to settle for the one kiss for now. And maybe if you behave, I'll even save you a dance."

"Save me a dance? Granger, the only person who gets to dance with you at all will be me," Draco said, feeling oddly possessive of him.

Once she gave him a pointed look, he gave in. "Fine, other men can dance with you. But I swear if any of them try to kiss you, I'll hex them."

She stroked his cheek. "I'll take you up on that. But keep in mind if any of them try to kiss me, I get the first shot."

Draco smirked; he knew there was a reason why he liked this witch so much. He extended an arm out to her, "Ready to go downstairs?"

Hermione smiled at him, "I never knew you could be so gentleman like," she teased, as she slipped her hand through his.

He raised an eyebrow, "I am the perfect gentleman, thank you very much," he sniffed as he raised his head dignified in the air, as the two of them made their way down the stairs.

Hermione looked as if she were about to retort, but Mrs. Weasley called out for them.

"Oh Draco, there you are! I've been meaning to talk to you all morning, but one thing or the other has come up. Harry has already taken the Polyjuice potion in case someone says something to get him in trouble. Now we had initially planned for you to take some as well, but seeing how just a few days ago you used the name 'Scorpius White', I think it would be the perfect alias for today as well," She said.

Draco nodded, it was only logical that he kept his name consistent. It was easier to use the one disguise instead of having many. He took out his wand and changed his appearance to match the one he had used last on Harry's birthday.

Once Mrs. Weasley had given him her nod of approval, and left, he turned to Hermione.

"How do I look?" he asked her once he had finished his transformation.

She pretended to ponder upon it, as she gave him a once over. "Hmm, well I guess it will do. Actually, I think you look a lot better this way," she said, mirroring his traditional smirk.

He found himself glaring at her, as the two of them were escorted to their seats. Luckily enough for him, he had managed to help get himself placed beside her, while Potter and Weasley sat several feet away from them.

She laughed as she placed a kissed him gently. He would never get sick of the way her soft lips grazed his.

He couldn't help but notice Harry and Ginny each taking turns to look at each other, while the other was facing away. It had been occurring from around the time of Harry's birthday, and he was slightly curious about the interaction.

"What's going on between the two of them?" He asked her as he gestured to the two he was thinking of.

She looked over and once she saw her two friends, she shook her head. "The two dated for the last few months, but then Harry being as noble as he is, broke up with her to keep her safe. She kissed him on his birthday, and while they both understand why they can't be together, it's obviously killing them both," she finished.

"And you don't think he should have?" he prompted her gently.

"I know where he's coming from," she said with a distant look in her eyes. He wanted to ask her what she meant, but knew that it was probably best to wait until she was ready to talk about whatever it was.

"But both of them have the notion that they are still going to have each other once this is all over, if they both make it. And I guess it makes me sad because I know how much it's clearly hurting them both, and there's nothing I can say or do to help either of them," she finished softly.

He squeezed her shoulder. "You can't always help everyone. And if some misfortune happens during the war, then at least they will be able to remember all the time they had before all of this," he said gently.

She nodded. "You're right, of course you are. I've just spent the last seven years worrying over Harry and Ron and I just feel like they are both my responsibility somehow, and when something bad happens to them, I get hurt by it."

"Well they are both very lucky to have you caring for them."

Hermione looked as if she was going to say something, but for the second time today, she was cut off. This time, it was because the music began to play, as Fleur Delacour made her way down the isle.

* * *

Hermione sighed as she watched Bill and Fleur be pronounced as husband and wife. The traditions were obviously different from the ones she had grown up with in the muggle world, but there was no less love involved with the wedding. Draco had quickly explained to her what would happen during the different sections of the wedding, so she was no caught by surprise by the traditions of the wizarding world.

After the couple had made their way to the end of the isle, Mrs. Weasley had stood up and waved away the scene with her wand. In the place of all the chairs and the wedding isle, was now an area set up for the reception.

After every one had eaten the intricate meal that Mrs. Weasley and others had spent a countless number of hours on, music began to play. She watched as Bill and Fleur had their first dance, and their eyes never left one another. What Bill and Fleur had was true love, and not a single person in the room could suspect otherwise.

"Care to dance?" Draco whispered in her ear, and broke her from her thoughts. She looked up to see that several couples had already joined the newlyweds on the floor.

"I thought you said you hate dancing," she said with a small smile, but could not deny that she wanted to go out and join the other couples.

He laced his fingers in hers as he led her onto the floor. "I do, but I know you don't," he said as he placed one hand on her waist, and kept the other intertwined with her own hand.

"I don't know how to do formal dances," she warned him. It was rare for her to say she hadn't known how to do something, but she never learned as she never needed to know how.

He laughed softly, "Don't worry, I'll lead," he said, as he placed her free hand on his shoulder. He pulled her in tightly so she could smell his sweet cologne. She felt her heart flutter rapidly, but she wasn't quite sure why.

This was Draco, the person whom she had already admitted she had feelings for, and whom had reciprocated those feelings as well. But despite all of that, she couldn't help but feel slightly nervous around him.

They danced in circles for a while, with Draco leading and her following, with their eyes never leaving each other. He was an extremely good dancer, and she suspected it must have been one of the Pureblood traditions he had learned in his childhood.

"Hermione?" Draco said gently, and she melted softly, as she gave him a smile.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something. About what you said earlier, about us being at war and how sacrifices need to be made. And while I completely agree with that, we are at a wedding in the middle of a war, and if that doesn't show that there can be happiness happen while darkness surrounds us, I don't know what does," he said, as he twirled her around.

"Of course; it's wonderful that Bill and Fleur have decided to get married," she said, as her eyes met his once more. She honestly had no idea where he was going with this.

He cleared his throat. "Hermione, these last few weeks with you have been great, and I want to have that same happiness with you. I'm not saying we get married or anything," he said quickly when her eyes widened. "I know what we have to do to bring Him down, and I'm glad you guys want me to join you, because I don't want to have to be away from you for that long. But through all of the fighting and planning, I want to have you by my side. I guess what I'm trying to say is, Hermione will you be my girlfriend? I know we haven't defined what we have, and I'm okay if you want to keep it that wa-"

She cut him off by pressing her lips to his. When she pulled away, she gave him a smile, "I'd love to Draco."

He smiled. As she leaned in for another kiss, they found themselves being interrupted for the umpteenth time that day.

"_The Ministry has fallen. Scrimegeour is dead. They are coming"_


	28. 12 Grimmauld Place

**Chapter 28**

Draco looked around at the street beside him. He was confused as to where he was. One second, he was dancing with Hermione, the next they had all apparated to the side of a street. But it wasn't like any wizarding city he knew, and trust him when he said that he knew most of the wizarding areas in London. But this, it was nothing like any place he had seen in his life.

"Where are we?" Weasley said, voicing his thoughts.

"A muggle neighbourhood, near where I grew up," Hermione said quietly. "I didn't know where else to go."

"This is the muggle world?" Draco asked in shock. The houses were not huge and well-built like the manor, or even unique like the more modest homes. Instead, they were all aligned, with the same shape and design, differing only in things like colour of materials or décor on the lawn. Through the windows he could see families partaking in various muggle activities, but he could not identify a single one of them; all the actions seemed so foreign to him. He wondered if this was how Hermione or other muggleborns felt upon the first time they entered the wizarding world.

Thankfully for them it was dark, because Draco had a feeling that otherwise they would stick out like an elf wearing a hat.

"Come one, we should change into something else," Hermione urged, leading them into a nearby shop, labeled as 'Pizza'.

"I hate to point it out, but Hermione the only thing we have on us is our wands," Harry said, looking a bit dejected.

"I've packed, don't worry. I've been packing anything and everything we could possibly need all month, just in case we need to leave at any given time," Hermione said as she pointed to her bag.

Draco saved her the trouble of explaining to Ron when the ginger haired boy look confused, "There's an extendable charm on the bag, so she can put in as much as she wants and only has to carry around that tiny thing."

Ron nodded at the explanation. The two of them were slowly warming up to each other, but Draco knew that it would be a long, long time before they could be considered as anything remotely close to friends.

Hermione handed them each a pair of muggle attire and pointed out a room for them to go change in. thankfully the diner was nearly abandoned so there were not many people around to see them. As Draco slipped on the muggle clothing, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was still the blackened colour, and while he disliked the colour, he decided it was best to keep it that way for the meantime. Muggle world, or not, there could always be a Death Eater on the prowl and it never hurt to take precautions.

As the three boys exited the room, they noticed Hermione sitting at a table waiting for them. He slid in beside her, as Ron and Harry sat opposite to the two of them.

"I ordered us all tea. Normally, I would say it was best for us not to stay in this area, but I think for now we should think of what we're going to do next, just in case," she said as they looked to her.

"Well, I guess this means we're officially hunting down Horcruxes," Harry said, with a weary look upon his face. "Time to get serious."

Draco closed his eyes and massaged his temples. He knew that this was what they had to do to bring down Voldemort, but it seemed so fruitless. They were only 17, and yet they had to hunt down about five random objects and destroy them with a weapon they knew nothing about. And better yet, no one else could know. It seemed so impossible to win this war, but he knew just how bad it would be if they lost, especially because it would mean that Hermione would be one of the first to gain a death sentence.

"We need a place to go first," Hermione said. "I mean we could always stay in a forest or something, but if we have another option, we should take it."

"12 Grimmauld Place," Harry said instantly. "I know there's a chance Snape could have ratted us out now that Dumbledore died, but there's still bound to be a lot of protection cast upon it. Moody and Dumbledore cast everything they could think of, and just because they're both dead, doesn't mean that the spells are."

"Where's that?" Draco asked, feeling foolish. It was obviously a location that the other three knew all about, and had forgotten he hadn't. It didn't really bother him that the Trio shared a past, because it was what made them who they were. They didn't exclude him purposefully, and both Harry and Hermione tried not to make him feel left out.

"It's the Black residence. Sirius lent it to the Order of Phoenix as a headquarters, but after his death, the house went to Harry. We haven't been there since though," Weasley said quietly.

Harry's eyes darkened and it was clear that he had forgotten about the fact that the house belonged to his deceased godfather. Draco lowered his head slightly, as it was his own aunt who killed him. He really hated the family he came from; the Blacks and Malfoys were once noble, but other than the exceptions of Andromeda and Sirius, the entire family seemed crazy.

"We don't have to go there if it's too hard, Harry," Hermione said softly as she grabbed Harry's hand from across the table and squeezed.

He gave her a soft smile but shook her head, "No, even though it's going to be difficult, the reasoning still stands. We should go there; we can think up how to defeat Voldemort once get there.

There was a crash outside, and suddenly two dark looking figures emerged from thin air. The two drew out wands and began throwing curses around, not caring who it was that was hit. Thankfully, there were no store employees in vision.

He drew out his wand and began to defend himself, as well as cast a couple of spells as well. The glass from the window behind him shattered, spraying the ground. Thankfully, he was far enough away not to get hit.

"Stupefy," Hermione shot out.

"Reducto," Draco yelled out simentaneously.

The two unwanted visitors fainted, and Hermione rushed over them. "I need you and Ron to start repairing the building," Hermione said to Harry. "I'm going to modify their memories to forget they ever saw us, Draco can you do the same to the shopkeeper?" she asked, as she gestured to the terrified looking brunette women standing in the doorway.

"Who are you people?" she asked, shaking. She was clearly in fear of them, but it did not hide the bit of defiance she had on her face.

"We're nobody. Forget you ever saw us," he said quietly.

"Easier said than done, you freaks," she said angrily. "Why are you here, and what do you want from me?"

"Nothing; it has nothing to do with you. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Please, we'll clean up and be gone in a moment," he said softly.

"Just leave," she hissed, with a continuous glare on her face.

"Obliviate," he muttered, feeling sorry about what he was going to do her.

Her eyes glazed over and when they gained focus again, she blinked and looked at him. "I'm sorry, have you been here long? Can I help you?"

He shook his head, "Sorry, I was just leaving."

She looked confused. "Well okay then, have a good day!"

Hermione rushed up to him and she grabbed his arm, "Scor, are you ready to go?" she asked him softly.

He nodded. She grabbed his hand and they headed outside. "Scor?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Neither Scorpius nor Draco are common names in the muggle world. She'll think it's a nickname and won't question it if I used a short form."

He nodded, but wasn't quite sure what he was agreeing with. A constellation based name might have been a Black Family tradition but it never struck him that his name might be considered to be strange.

Once the four of them reached far enough away from sight, Hermione scribbled something onto a sheet of paper and handed it to him.

_The Headquarters of the Order of Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London_

Draco read the sheet and destroyed it once he had it memorized. Hermione grabbed his hand, and before he knew it, he had apparated to the house. He watched as his companions disabled the various security features.

"Severus, Severus Snape?" A ghostly voice called out.

"I-I didn't kill you," Harry croaked out in a low voice, and just like that, the door unlocked, and the spell came undone.

On the inside, the house was ill kept, and had dust accumulating in certain regions. There rooms were dark and old, and overall had a gloomy air to it. He could see the ghost of a home that once held the same pride and value as his own, but it was clear that those days were in the past. While this home should belong to him by birthright, Draco could honestly say he wanted nothing to do with it. Even if it hadn't been left to Harry, Draco did not want to own a place where his family once had occupied.

"Master," a voice croaked out. "Have you returned for Kreacher?"

Draco turned quickly at the sound, and saw and old elf staring at Harry.

"Kreacher, we're going to live here for a little while, alright? I command you not to tell anyone"

"Master has brought his Mudblood and Blood traitor friends," he muttered disapprovingly.

"I told you not to call them that," Harry yelled out, but it appeared not to sink it.

"What would my poor mistress say?" the elf moaned. His eyes peaked interest as he look up at Draco. "And who is this? Could it be, a Black? A true Black has returned to his home! Oh Kreacher is so happy!"

"Uhm…what?" Draco asked, looking to Harry for help.

"Technically, if I didn't own this home, then you would be Kreacher's master. And if there is one thing about Kreacher, it's that he lives to serve house of Black," Harry said drily.

"Okay…" Draco said, unsure how to deal with this new information.

"May I grab you something to drink, sir? Or perhaps you would like something to eat?" Kreacher asked him eagerly.

"He's never this happy to serve me," Harry muttered to Ron.

"Trust me mate, if he is, then you should be worried. He's probably trying to poison you," Ron said with a smirk.

"I'm not that thirsty, Kreacher," but when he saw the elf's face droop, he quickly added, "But maybe you could grab us all a light snack?" Kreacher bowed and apparated to go do his bidding.

"Now," Hermione said, getting all of their attention, "Time to brainstorm."

* * *

Blaise stared at the front page of that morning's newspaper. There had been another attack on some part of small wizarding settlement, and five people were reported to be dead. He hated that it was happening so frequently, and he hated more than anything that there was nothing that he could do about it.

Would Draco have been a part of these attacks? He felt sick at the thought of his former friend having anything to do with the murders. Maybe if he tried harder to help Draco, he wouldn't have just given up and joined Voldemort in mind. Maybe if Blaise didn't push him away in that last month before his death, maybe Draco would have, he would have still been here.

He hadn't even noticed that a few tears escaped down his face, he wasn't really much of a crier. But so much had changed lately, and this must have just been another thing that had as well.

Blaise had started receiving letters from Voldemort lately; his entire family had. It seemed that Voldemort didn't want them to be neutral in this war, and wanted them to specifically be in his inner ring. But he couldn't do it, he couldn't go through the same thing Draco had as well.

But he wasn't strong enough to go on the run like Theo; he would die the first night he tried. His mom told him to ignore it, and that worst come worst, they would take care of it. But he couldn't help but worry about it. There were so many things that could go wrong, and so many things that could lead to more people getting hurt.

He closed his eyes and put his head between his hands. He could only hope that things would work for the best.

* * *

**A/n: **Don't hate me I know how short this chapter is. I usually write on Saturdays and Sundays, but this weekend I've been feeling rather unwell. Unfortunately, along with the homework I haven't done, I wasn't able to write that much this week due to the fact that I can't concentrate on a computer screen for long enough without feeling sick. But I will make next week's upload as long as I usually I do. Also please excuse any grammar mistakes in this chapter.


	29. The Black Family Tree

**Chapter 29**

_Blaise Zabini,_

_I had hoped that your pureblood mother had raised you better than to ignore the mail that you have been sent. However, seeing you lack of response, I know that it is not the case. So I will repeat my previous offer, and hopefully this time it will have more of an effect on you._

_As you know the number of youths that are currently involved in the ranks of the Death Eaters are scarce. With the death of your dear friend Draco Malfoy, and the runaway Theodore Nott Junior, I am in the need for more of the younger generation to fill the positions of elder members as they are no longer as useful as they once were._

_How is that dear mother of yours? Is she still marrying the richest wizards to look her way? It would be a shame if something were to change with the next husband she obtained. It is such a coincidence that all of her previous husbands suffered from unpredictable deaths, what if the roles reversed? It would be such a tragedy if by some odd chance, she were the one to die first next time._

_I do hope that you will look upon this letter as the proper motivation for you to change your mind. I do look forward to receiving your favourable response._

_Lord Voldemort_

Blaise's hands trembled as he read the contents of the letter. Voldemort was bluffing, he had to be. There was absolutely no way that he could get to his mother. She said that they would be safe, she promised. So why was he sweating so heavily over a whole bunch of meaningless words?

He couldn't help but worry about the truth behind the letter. Yes, many of his mother's husbands had died over the years, leaving them to be rather wealthy. He had suspected it on many cases, but he knew that there was no way that his mother could be responsible for their deaths; Slytherin or not, she would never kill another person for money.

All Voldemort had to do was disguise a Death Eater as his mother's next suitor. She was currently unmarried, and that phase never lasted for long. Of course, his mother would make sure about the alliances of any potential husband she took, but there was still a good chance that whoever he was could be fooling her. After all, Lucius Malfoy paraded around the Ministry for years before being suspected of his alliances.

There was really no other option. In the end, Draco couldn't avoid the life, and Theo was probably dead from trying to run. What chance did he stand? If Voldemort wants you, then it is extremely hard to stay away; well unless you're Harry Potter.

Blaise grabbed the letter in his hand and the fireplace. He knew that he could simply send an owl, but he wanted to make one last trip to Diagon Alley. If he was going to do this, then he would do it right. He needed to make sure that he told his mother in person what he was about to do. He needed to let her know that he was doing this to keep her safe, and that he didn't want her to be at risk. He owed her that much.

She would try to talk him out of it; that was for sure. But Blaise need to make her understand. He wasn't a kid any more. It had been a few months since his 17th birthday, and it was time he started to show some responsibility, especially to the woman who went out of her way to raise him properly.

"Diagon Alley," he yelled in a hurry as he dropped the Floo powder into the fireplace.

The streets were packed with busy customers. The alley was slowly getting to be more dangerous, so people preferred to do the shopping they had to during the daylight, when there would be others about. Not that it really made a difference; if the death eaters wanted you, then they got you.

He was so immersed in his thoughts, he didn't notice as he ran straight into someone.

"Watch where you're going!" he snapped. He had no time to deal with this sort of thing. What if someone was already watching his mother at this very moment? No, he needed to send his reply to Voldemort as soon as possible, so he needed to talk to his mother.

"Oh sorry, it must have been the Wrackspurt; they've been swarming me like crazy all morning and it's made me a little out of it," the voice of a female said out. Her voice was a bit dreamy, as if she wasn't completely there.

Blaise looked at the girl in front of him, and saw a face that he recognized; Loony Lovegood. She was a year younger than him in school, and in Ravenclaw; so by all means, he shouldn't know who she was. But with a character like hers, it was hard not to be known in the school. Others in his year were constantly making fun of her, or even stealing her stuff and hiding them in weird locations just for the sake of it.

"I know you. You're Blaise Zabini, aren't you?" she said, peering curiously at him.

"Yes, well if you excuse me, I really need to get going." He said, trying to leave from the conversation that she was about to start.

"You dropped your letter," she called out to him, causing him to stop in his tracks. He turned around to see her holding it delicately in her left hand.

"Give me that," he said as he snatched the letter out of her hand. The last thing he needed was for others to know he was joining the Death Eaters.

"We're defined by the choices we make," she said suddenly. "Sometimes, what we think might be for the good of others, isn't always for the best."

"You don't know what you're talking about," he said in a warning tone. She knew; he didn't know how, when there was barely enough time for her to have read the letter, but somehow she knew what it said.

"Don't I? Just because someone promises that they will stay away from the ones you love, doesn't always mean it to be true. We can't live our lives in fear of what may or may not happen because we don't want others to get hurt."

"Why did you read my letter?" He demanded. "It was private, and you had no right to snoop around. You're lucky if I don't hex you for doing so."

"I didn't," she blinked.

"What?"

"I didn't read your letter. You just looked like you were at war about something with yourself, and I decided just to give you some advice," she said, as she pushed a strand of her long blonde hair out of her face.

"But, how did you know to say that exactly?" he asked her. For a person who was supposed to be certifiably crazy, Luna Lovegood was doing a great job of proving her title.

"You reminded me of my father; with the look I mean. He's been printing articles supporting Harry Potter in his magazine, The Quibbler, and he's started receiving threatening letters from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and even though both of our lives are at risk, he's still doing it. Because he believes that it is what he needs to do, and I completely support him. So I'm sure whoever you're trying to keep safe will understand if you don't do whatever they want you to."

"Uh thanks," Blaise said, as he turned to leave. She was definitely crazy; she had to be.

He hurried down the streets of the city to find his Mother. She was probably still having tea with one of her friends, but what he had to do couldn't wait for her to come home.

Yet he couldn't get rid of the words that Lovegood had parted with him. He tried to shake them from his mind; he couldn't have any hesitation with what he was about to do, not if he wanted to live.

He raced into the store where his mother was, but stopped dead in his tracks. On the rack was a copy of this month's Quibbler.

The main headline of the front cover was some pro-Potter thing, and there were articles about creatures that he hadn't ever heard of. But that wasn't what caught his eye. It was the little subtitle off on the corner.

_My Daughter, My Muse: A daughter's words of inspiration. _

Blaise picked up the magazine and quickly turned to the page that the magazine had highlighted for the article. He skimmed it quickly; it was about how Luna inspired her father to follow his dreams, even after the death of her mother. Her father said how he was tempted to turn away from supporting Harry Potter just to keep his daughter safe, but in the end, he couldn't. He needed to support Potter, because he was the only hope of making sure nothing happened to his daughter. Because at the end of the day, the Death Eaters could always break their promises, and whatever they promised you could have been in vain.

"Blaise? What are you doing here, sweetie?"

He turned around, and saw his mother looking confused at his presence.

He knew he had two choices. He could go to Voldemort and join his ranks to keep his mother safe, or he could not and endanger his mother. But like Mr. Lovegood said, there was always a risk that something could happen to his mother, despite Blaise's attempts to keep her safe. So there and then, he made a choice; one that would impact everything that happened to him from here on out.

He took a deep breath before speaking, "I just wanted to see you, Mother. I wanted to accompany you on the rest of your shopping now that you're done your tea," he said with a fake smile.

She smiled at him, "Oh Blaise, you're such a good boy," she said, as she joined him.

Blaise wasn't sure if this choice would get them both killed, but he couldn't just join up with Voldemort out of fear. And he was glad of his choice.

* * *

Draco wandered down the hall of the residence he was staying in. He had a hard time sleeping that night, and decided just to get up early and get something to eat.

He wasn't sure what exactly caused him to stop precisely in front of the door, but there was something about the room that called out to him.

He turned the knob silently, trying to make as little noise as possible and stepped into the room before shutting the door behind him.

The room was dimly lit, so Draco lit up his wand with a quick _Lumos. _The light spread through the room, brightening it up quicker than the speed of a Wronski Feint.

On the walls was possibly the largest family tree that he had ever seen in his life. He skimmed the walls and saw that it contained the Black family; his family.

He looked on the wall and saw that throughout the perfect pictures, there were a few blackened spots. He traced his fingers over the spots, Sirius and Andromeda. He followed his aunt's line to his mother, and down to himself.

His picture was still perfectly intact, with his teenage face held high with a look of contempt. It reminded him so much of the person he had tried to be to please his family. He couldn't help but wonder just how much he had changed, and if any of it had been for the better.

"Draco?" he turned around to see Harry standing in the doorway. The boy was in his pyjamas and his hair was even messier than its usual state.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be in here, I just got a bit curious," he apologised.

"Don't worry about it; I explored in here too the first time I came here. You have no idea how much it shocked me to know that you were related to Sirius," he said with a smile.

"Because I was so awful, and he was wonderful?" Draco said bitterly, as he looked down at his hands. He knew he couldn't erase the past, but it didn't stop him from wanting to.

"More or less," Harry confessed, looking guilty. "But Sirius just smiled at me and said that if you go back far enough, most of the pureblood society was related.

Draco sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall, as he brought his knees close to his chest. Harry joined him on the floor

"Sirius would have liked you, you know," Harry said after a moment's silence. "He would have said that you were spunky and a brat, but that you were brave and your heart is in the right place. Sirius always had a way of making people feel good about themselves."

Draco felt a light smile tug at the corner of his mouth. "I wish I could have met him. He might have been someone in my family that I actually could stand. Don't get me wrong, Aunt Andromeda is wonderful, but…"

Harry seemed to understand what he was saying. "I know. Sirius was one of the first father figures I had in my life. I would give anything to have him back, but I'm grateful for the time I had with him. Remus and Sirius, they were my father's best friends, and to be able to know them is like knowing my father."

"You have changed Draco," Harry said suddenly. "I can see it, and I know Hermione can too. We both forgive you for the things you've done in the past, and we don't associate you with your actions from when we were younger. Besides, it's not as if I was innocent in most of our encounters either."

Draco smiled again, "Thanks Harry. I just want to make things right, you know? My father has done so much damage and right now he's probably off torturing muggles somewhere. And I want to stop people like him. If Voldemort wins, it won't be better for purebloods. We'll have to all live under his rule and with one wrong move, we'll be thrown out. But none of the other Death Eaters see how bad it will be if he wins. They just see that they get to do whatever they want.

"I want to keep her safe from all of this. I know we need her if we want to stand a chance, but if it were up to me, I would want her to go with her parents. But that's Hermione; she stays by those she cares for without even a single glance back. She does what she believes to be right and stands up for her friends. And that's what makes her unique. That's what I love about her. But I still want to protect her from everything out there," Draco said as he stared at the wall across from him.

"I'm glad," Harry said. "Hermione deserves someone who accepts all parts of her. She deserves to be loved by someone who won't try to change her, but will respect her and her choices. So if anyone has to end up with her, then I'm glad it's you."

Draco wanted to thank him once more. For once, it felt like he had friends again. He missed both Blaise and Theo, but he knew that it wasn't safe to contact either of them, even if he knew where Theo was. Besides, they both thought he was dead, and if he wasn't, then they would think he was a Death Eater. But all he wanted was to tell them both the truth. Yet even without either of them, he was grateful that Harry was being such a good friend to him, and that he had Hermione.

But before he could express his gratitude, there was a knock on the door.

"Harry, Draco, are you two in here?" a female voice called out.

Draco looked at the door and saw Hermione standing there with a cup of steaming tea in her hands. Her hair was put up in a bun, and she was currently wearing a robe on top of her pyjamas.

"Morning, Hermione," Harry said, as he got up to greet her.

"Good morning. Kreacher has made breakfast, if you two want to go and grab some," she said. Harry's eye lit up and he made his way quickly out of the room.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked Draco as she look at his tired expression.

"Not really, no" he admitted to her. She placed her tea on a table and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He snaked his arms around the small of her back as he pulled her in close.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, as she kept her eyes on his.

Draco gave her a smile before kissing her forehead. "It is now," he said as he broke free of her embrace.

She grabbed her tea and the arm Draco had held out for her, before the two of them made their way down the stairs.

* * *

A couple of hours passed before the four sat at the table.

"We need to make a list of every single thing that could possibly be a Horcrux and where it could be," Hermione said authoritatively.

"Well, the diary and the ring are destroyed, and we know that there was a locket. But we don't know if it's destroyed. Also, there's the Hufflepuff cup," Harry said.

"How many do we think he made?" Draco inquired.

"We're thinking seven. Harry said that he's obsessed with the number," Ron said to him.

"So he likes objects of the founders, and items that he feels are important to him," Draco surmised.

"I'll be right back," Ron said, as he excused himself from the table.

"Could animals be used as a Horcrux?" Draco asked, with an idea formulating in his mind.

"Technically, anything could be used," Hermione said.

"Wait, you don't think Nagini is one, do you?" Harry asked him.

Draco shrugged. "It could be anything. But he treasures that snake and he's always so careful with it. So I think it would make sense."

Hermione nodded, "Good, that's number five. We still need to think of two more ones though."

Draco racked his brain for any other item that he could think of. Yet he felt his brain hit a wall deep in his mind.

"Guys, what were the initials used in the note that signed the locked?" Ron asked, as he hurried back into the room.

"R.A.B.," Hermione said. "Why?"

"Because, I think I found him."

* * *

**A/N: **Guys, I've reached 100 reviews! And the amount of views I received this week was incredible. Thank you so much for your continued support and your amazing feedback.


	30. Severus Snape for Headmaster

**Chapter 30**

_R.A.B. _

Those were the initials of Sirius's younger brother. From what Kreacher had willingly told Draco, the four of them had found that Sirius's brother had gotten mixed up with the Death Eaters at a young age. And once he had realised that he didn't want to be a part of Voldemort's organization, it was far too late. As Draco knew far too well, once you got in, there was no getting out; well no getting out alive anyways. Regulus had taken the real locket and given it to Kreature to destroy, however the house elf had been unable to do so. When Harry asked the house elf where the locket currently was, the elf broke down into a fit of tears and claimed that the horrid Mundungus Fletcher had taken the locket, along with several other Black family heirlooms, and sold them off.

Kreacher had been overjoyed when Harry had returned the locket that Regulus had switched with the Horcrux so many years ago. It was as if a switch had went off in the creature's mind which made him care more for his master than he ever had. So while the elf was off locating the thieving wizard, Draco, Hermione, Ron, and Harry were currently waiting at the kitchen table for news about the whereabouts of the Horcrux.

It had been about three days since the elf had left the house in search of Mundungus, and the four of them were just sitting there waiting. He wanted to go out there and find that wizard himself, or at least start a mission for one of the other possible Horcruxes, but they had absolutely nothing to go on. Mundungus Fletcher was their best lead in their search. So until Kreacher returned, the four were left with nothing to do but think up other possible Horcruxes. And trust him when he said that they weren't getting anywhere close to figuring out what they were.

It annoyed Draco slightly, that that poor excuse of a wizard had sold off his family's heirlooms. Not as much as it did Harry, but still a significant amount. Granted, he had never met any of the family in question, and everything now did belong to Harry, but he still felt as if the wizard had made off with his own personal items. Circe knew where they all were at the moment.

Ron was the first to break the silence that had been accumulating in the room. "You guys realise that the locket could literally be anywhere right now? Who knows who Mundungus sold it to, and who knows what they did with it," Ron said, voicing all of their silent worries.

"What if it's currently in the possession of a Death Eater? They're not exactly going to be willing to hand it over to any of us," Draco said glumly.

"And what if he still has it? We can't let our minds get ahead of ourselves. We won't know anything about where it is until Kreacher gets back. So why don't we all go do something productive? I'm reading books for research; the least you guys can do is try and find something to do that doesn't involve moping around," Hermione said, as she placed down one of her several hundred page long books as she gave them all a dirty look.

So Draco picked up the Daily Prophet for that day to skim what was still happening in the outside world. It was a bit weird at times to know that the world was still going on day after day despite all the things that were happening as a result of Voldemort. But people still had lives to live and they couldn't exactly stop because of a few deaths.

The title stood out to him immediately.

**_Severus Snape Named New Hogwarts Headmaster._**

It wasn't possible. It wasn't that he didn't believe that his godfather could be Headmaster, but he knew that this had to be because of Voldemort. The position of Headmistress should be for McGonagall, but obviously Voldemort's new strings in the Ministry of Magic made it able for him to make decisions such as these. If it wasn't such a bad thing, Draco would say that it was rather ingenious move. To have control over children as they grew up and were learning to control their magic.

"Guys, you might want to see this," Draco said, as he laid the paper out for everyone to see.

"Severus Snape Named New Hogwarts Headmaster," Harry read in a disbelieving voice. "Can they even do this?"

"Oh Bloody Hell," Ron exclaimed. "I feel sorry for every poor kid who has to return this year."

Hermione, however, did not say a thing. Instead, her face paled and immediately, she shot out of her chair. "Merlin's pants," she shrieked as she rushed out of the room.

Draco frowned as he watched his girlfriend leave, "Should I even ask?" he asked the two boys who knew her best.

Ron shook his head. "Trust me mate, sometimes it's better not to ask. When Hermione has a sudden realization, she won't stop to tell anyone about it, until she's figured out everything and basically taken care of the entire problem. But don't worry, she'll tell us eventually."

"And when would that be?" Draco asked him curiously. While he and Ron still weren't the best of friends, they were definitely getting closer. It was nice, to be able to get along with the Golden Trio. None of them looked at him with looks of loathing in their eyes, and Draco knew that he was forgiven for all of the things he had said to them. With Ron, the forgiveness had been more unspoken than it had been with the other two.

Hermione rushed into the room, carrying a huge portrait. And set in on the table. However, the frame was currently empty.

"Uh Hermione, is now really the best time for redecoration?" Harry asked her as he raised an eyebrow.

"Harry, Ron, Draco, meet Phineas Nigellus Black," Hermione said. Suddenly, a man appeared in the frame. He was elderly looking, but there was a stern look on his face that he must have worn while living.

"Who called me?" the old man asked with indignation. "I was having a nice nap."

"I did," Hermione said as she met the man in the portrait's eyes.

"A mudblood in the House of Black? What are you doing in here?" The man asked with clear distaste in his voice.

"Don't call her that," Draco snapped at the man, and thus startling the other occupants. Hermione gave him a thin smile, and under the table, he squeezed her hand.

"Ah Draco Malfoy, so you do live. I had heard of your death, and while you are a Malfoy, I was still rather disappointed. You still have Black blood in your veins and your death ends the line of every Black member."

"Andromeda and Nymphadora Tonks still live; they both have just as much black family blood as I do," Draco reminded the man. He had a feeling that he wouldn't like the man.

"But their blood has been tainted. Your however has not. Best keep it that way," Phineas said.

"I'll keep your warning in mind," Draco said drily but had no such plans to do so.

"I need you to do something for us, for Draco. I know you have a portrait in Dumbledore's office, and now that Severus Snape is the new headmaster, he may ask you questions about this household. But please, do not tell him about Draco and that he is still alive, or that any of us or staying here. It is a matter of life or death," Hermione said calmly.

"I don't see why answering a few questions for a Headmaster is such a big deal," Phineas said huffily.

Draco suddenly understood. If Severus found out that he was still alive, godfather or not, he would be obliged to answer back to Voldemort.

"Phineas, you're something along the lines of my great great great-grandfather. If the Black family line is to survive, then my presence, along with their presences, must be kept as a secret. It is of top most importance that you do not reveal our whereabouts. It is a matter of life or death," Draco said diplomatically.

Phineas smiled at him; however there was not any kindness behind his eyes. "I understand, young Malfoy. You can expect my mouth to stay shut. After all, we Blacks must do what it takes to survive, even if it means telling a few lies."

Draco let out a breath of air. Slytherins always did what it took to protect their own; however in the face of death it was every man for themselves. While Phineas was already dead, he looked to the next of his kin to protect, and that happened to be Draco. He knew he could trust the man not to go back on his word.

But he had to admit, it did bother him slightly. After all, was he not a Slytherin himself? Would he do the exact same thing in the face of death, or would he protect the ones he loved? The only way he figured he would ever know was if he was placed in a position where he would have to choose. Hopefully, he would never have.

"Thank you," Hermione said as she let out a breath. He could tell from her face that she had not been expecting Phineas to comply so quickly to her request.

The portrait harrumphed. "It was not for you, girl. Now, put me back where I belong, if you please!"

Hermione nodded as she carried the portrait back to its original location.

"Told you she would tell us whenever she was ready," Ron said as he munched on a chocolate frog.

Draco simply nodded. By now he should be used to the level that her brain thought on, but it still shocked him. She seemed to think of every possibility before the rest of them were even able to form basic thoughts. Sure, Draco may have been second in their year, but he hadn't even considered the fact that a portrait would be able to give away information about their mission.

"Don't worry about it mate," Harry said as he grabbed one of the frogs from the pile in front of Ron. "We used to feel bad about not thinking about some of the things she did too, but eventually you get used to it. After all, she's the brightest witch of our age."

* * *

Severus Snape slumped into the chair in Albus' old office. He pressed together his long fingers as he stared off into the space before him. He could not believe that he had to come back here, after everything that had happened.

How was he supposed to look at his co-workers or students after the events that had transpired that June? It didn't matter that he had killed Albus due to his weakness and Albus' request, because no one knew that. When the deed was done, he had consoled himself by believing that he wouldn't be coming back to the institute until long after Voldemort had fallen, and by then he could clear himself by showing the untouched memories of Albus to the world and clear all suspicion from himself.

But the Dark Lord wanted more power. He wanted to brainwash the young children of England in their impressionable years. And who better for the task of enforcing the Dark Lord's will than Severus himself?

And to top it off, the Carrows were being sent alongside him to serve as teachers for Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies; two classes that were now mandatory for students. He would be forced to continue to wear the stern, cold, and uncaring look upon his face when deep down it would kill him to force children to partake in the grooming to become Death Eaters.

He thanked Merlin that Draco had successfully gotten out alive. The last thing Severus needed was to worry about his godson in the midst of all the confusion and madness that was overshadowing the world.

He was grateful that his godson would get to live a life as far away from the role as a double agent as possible. Yes, Draco had been one for a while, but thankfully now that the other side believed him to be dead, he would be able to live one life.

He closed his eyes as he brushed his thumb over a picture of Lily Evans. He was doing all of this for her; a girl he had loved but had gotten killed. She had asked him once, why it was that he did the things he did. She'd asked him why he would hang out with other people who wanted to hurt her, and he couldn't give her an answer. He wanted to feel powerful, better than his muggle father who had harmed him in more ways than one. But while trying to push himself towards isolating himself from his father, he isolated himself from her. And he could never forgive that about himself. It was something he would have to live with for the rest of his life, so he would spend the time trying to make it right; even if no one ever knew the truth.

* * *

Hermione was getting worried. How long did it take to track down a person? Of course someone as slippery as Mundungus wouldn't be the easiest to find, and she knew that. But as the hours passed by, she was losing hope of ever seeing him.

There was also the chance that Mundungus was dead. The Daily Prophet did their best in the past to list off the names of those who had died, but after the Ministry being taken over by Voldemort, the Daily Prophet stopped writing anything in terms of attacks. Of course there were all the propaganda articles about how muggleborns, or mudbloods as they phrased it, were an endangerment, or how they were a shame to society.

It bugged her to read those articles day after day, but she couldn't stop reading the paper. There were articles in that had about a shred of truth to them; however that was enough to know what was really happening in the world.

She curled into the arm of the chair in the library of 12 Grimmauld Place, as she tried to put her worries out of her mind by reading through the Tales of Beedle and the Bard. It seemed to be a collection of children's tales, and nothing more. She had no idea why Dumbledore had left it for her and how exactly it was meant to help Harry on his mission. There was nothing at all of relevance, other than a few tales that were told to children. Maybe the only purpose behind her being given the book was simply for her own enjoyment. But that just seemed so unlikely.

There was a snap downstairs, and Hermione knew right away that Kreacher had returned. She placed the book down on the table beside her as she bolted down the stairs. When she reached the kitchen, she saw Kreacher beating Mundungus with a rolling pin.

"I have caught him master, the thieving scum," Kreacher hissed as he continued to beat the man. Hermione almost felt bad for Mundungus, however the feeling soon vanished.

"Should we stop him?" Hermione asked Harry.

"Uh right. Kreacher, maybe you should hold off for a little bit, and when I need you to you can hit him again, alright?" Harry told the house elf.

Hermione didn't know whether to burst out laughing or to scold her friend for his order.

Kreacher's eyes brightened at Harry's words. "Yes Master, thank you."

"If this is about Moody, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave, but I had no other choice; you would have done the same thing," Mundungus stuttered out.

"We would have stayed and fought, you coward," Ron roared. "We don't leave our missions half way through."

"I didn't even want to go! Mad Eye forced me to be there. I-I panicked okay? You-Know-Who was going to shoot the killing curse at me and I had no idea what else to do, so I apparated. I'm sorry-"

"Fat lot of good that does anyone now; he's dead, and nothing you say can make up for that." Draco said darkly.

But they were getting off topic, and Hermione nudged Harry so they can get back on track.

"That's not why we brought you here, Mundungus. We want to know about something you took from here a few years ago. A locket; it would have been placed in that cabinet there," Harry said, as he pointed to the china cabinet.

Mundungus looked idly by as he raised his eyebrows. "You want to bust me for taking some useless heirloom…? Shouldn't you be off killing You-Know-Who or something? Instead, you simply want to track down items that belonged to your dead godfather."

"You sold it, didn't you?" Ron demanded.

"I took and sold a lot of things, you'll have to be more specific," Mundungus said lazily, as he kicked his feet up on the table.

"Kreacher?" Harry said to the house elf. "You may continue to keep hitting him until he reveals something of relevance to us.

The house elf happily obliged as he used the rolling pin to smack the looter.

"Ow, ouch, okay please stop, I remember, I remember."

Harry nodded to the elf and Kreacher stopped hitting Mundungus.

"I took it to Knockturn Alley and was about to sell it, until this awful toad-like woman took it from me. She claimed it to be a violation of some law that she sounded like she made up on the spot. I do remember her wearing a hideous pink outfit with a matching cap. I could have gotten several galleons for the locket and she cheated me out of it."

Hermione had a sinking feeling in her chest as she realised who it was that Mundungus was talking about.

Harry met her eyes. "Umbridge," he said grimly


	31. The Ministry of Magic

**Chapter 31**

"Are you sure you want it to be today?" Hermione asked worriedly as Harry continued to pack up their supplies into her bag. "I mean we could always wait a bit longer; it would give us more time to put together the strategy. We still don't know a lot about the Ministry. As great as the knowledge you gave us was from surveillance and from Draco's trips to the Ministry when he was younger, we could really double the amount we know if we watch them a bit more.

The four of them were seated at the table as Kreacher placed a plate of pancakes in front of each of them. Ron immediately dug in to his food, while Hermione made no move to touch hers.

Harry shook his head. "Hermione, we can push off this mission for as long as you'd like, but at the end of the day it needs to happen sometime. We might not know a lot about how the Ministry operates, but we know enough to get by."

"But-" Hermione started as her eyebrows furrowed, however Draco silenced her with a kiss.

"Hermione, we can't take forever with this. So many people are dying each day, and only two Horcruxes have been destroyed. The sooner we can get rid of the Horcruxes, the sooner we can get rid of that bastard."

Hermione nodded meekly. "You're right, I just can't help but worry that something is going to go terribly wrong, and I can't shake that feeling."

Draco ran his thumb over her hand which was currently resting on the table. "You can worry about it all you want, Hermione, but at the end of the day we can't predict what will and won't happen today. The only way we'll know is if we take a chance."

He placed a kiss on her temple to assure her, and she felt herself pacify slightly.

"Can you two stop being mushy this early in the morning? I'm going to lose my appetite," Ron grumbled, however the sound came out muffled due to the food currently stuffed in his mouth.

"Trust me, Weasley, I don't think your appetite is going to suffer any time soon," Draco said with a smirk.

Ron responded by chucking a fork at his head, which Draco easily stopped with a flick of his wand.

"If the two of you are done arguing, we still have a lot to go over," Harry reminded them.

"You're being oddly responsible today, Harry. Are you feeling alright?" Ron asked him curiously.

Hermione smiled at the exchange. "Harry's right. Let's go over everything once more to make sure we all understand how it's going to happen."

The four then proceeded to spend the next hour going over every little detail of the next several hours. They planned for each scenario that they may come across, and with the help of both Draco and Ron's knowledge of the Ministry of Magic, they went over the workings of the building in case of any need for a quick escape.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked her as they prepared to apparate.

With a quick nod, she secured her hand over the bag. They had each taken their polyjuice potion and wearing their proper robes, so they no longer looked as themselves.

Ron stood on the one side of Harry, as Hermione stood to the other. _'Well, here goes nothing,'_ Hermione thought to herself as she placed one hand on Harry's and the other on Draco's.

Asdfghjkl;

They were in. The four had successfully made sure that the original people they were impersonating would be nowhere near the building that day, and they had split up into two groups. Draco maneuvered his way through the building with Hermione closely by his side. They had decided it was best for someone to accompany Hermione, not because she couldn't handle herself, but in case of a fight where it was more than one on one. He was currently posing as an intern for Mafalda Hopkirk, the witch who Hermione had been impersonating. They had decided that it would look weird if some random co-worker was accompanying her who normally had no duty with the witch normally. It had been Ron, surprisingly enough, who suggested using an intern.

He had taken the polyjuice potion with hair of a random muggle. Hermione had apparated to the muggle world a few days ago and she had picked up the hair off an unsuspecting man in his early twenties. Draco currently appeared to be a brunette male, towering her heavily at 6 feet, to her current 5"4. She had made sure to acquire robes for him that other interns had been spotted on several occasions wearing.

He let her take the lead, as she was supposed to be his superior. He could tell that she was still nervous about the entire mission, but he trusted her rationality to be her guide to prevent any mishaps.

* * *

Hermione continued to follow Draco's instructions as they walked together down the hall.

"Good morning Ms. Hopkirk," a worker walking by said as they passed. "Got yourself another intern, have you? "

Hermione smiled pleasantly, "Yes I have, figured it would be best to train as many new people as possible. Getting rid of all the muggleborns means fewer jobs, so the more desirable workers we have, the better."

He could tell how much it bothered her to say that sentence and any other one that demeaned her worth because of her blood. He was tempted to reach out and grab her hand to show his support, but that would look suspicious, so he decided against it.

"Of course," the man said with a smile. "Oh, and Dolores told me to keep an eye out for you. She said she would be getting ready to start the interviews after you showed up, so you should get over there as soon as possible. You know how she hates waiting."

She nodded. "I'll be on my way," she said calmly. "It was nice talking to you," she said carefully, to not use any names. The last thing she wanted was to give hers cover away and blow their entire operation.

"Jameson," he said with a smile.

"What?" she asked him, confused.

"You forgot my name again, haven't you? But don't worry, I'm used to it by now," he said without taking the look off his face.

"Oh, well-uh, I'm just really bad with names," Hermione said, slightly flustered.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, I have to get going as well. I have an important meeting in fifteen minutes, so I'll see you around."

She nodded. Once he was out of sight, she turned to Draco. "Right, so which way do I go?" she asked him.

"Down this hall, then turn right. It's the fifth door from there," he said directing her.

She nodded before turning to walking down the corridor. Once the two of them reached the door, she paused slightly. Inside the room Hermione could hear a woman sobbing uncontrollably. Her heart raced as she tried to imagine what could be happening in the room. She was about to rush in when Draco put an arm on hers.

"Stop," he said quietly, as he pulled her hand away from the door knob.

"What are you doing? Someone could be seriously hurt!" she exclaimed, confused by his actions.

"They probably are, but because of the Ministry. It will blow your cover if you rush in there. Regardless of what you may see, you need to keep calm," he informed her softly. He knew that it would hurt her to watch the muggleborns get tormented by Umbridge. He had no idea what exactly was happening behind the closed door but he was able to piece together a good assumption.

She met his eyes, "Okay. Now, let's do this," she said before letting out a bit of air. She opened the door and gracefully slipped inside, as Draco followed her.

"Ah Mafalda, I was beginning to wonder where you had gotten," Umbridge said in her annoyingly surgery voice. Draco had forgotten how much he had loathed her voice. It brought him back to his fifth year at Hogwarts where he had served under her. It hadn't even been his idea, but his father had pushed him to join; anything to further shame Harry for trying to speak the truth after all.

"I'm sorry, Dolores, I ran into a bit of trouble on the way up. However it was nothing that I was not able to handle. I hope I have not kept you waiting for too long," she answered in a very business-like tone. Seated on the other side of Umbridge was none other than Yaxley, a known Death Eater. She almost took in a deep breath at the sight, but managed to contain herself. His presence suddenly made her task even harder. Thankfully for her, Draco was also nearby in case anything went wrong.

Above where the man being questioned was sitting, were a flock of Dementors and the only thing separating them from the rest of the room was the patronus of a silver cat, keeping them away from the man being interrogated.

"It is of no matter. I have been kept occupied with work. However, now that you are here, you many return to taking notes as you have been doing for the last few days," she said gesturing for Hermione to sit down in the seat intended for her. "Your intern may sit down beside you. Give him some busy work to keep him occupied."

Hermione sat down at the table as Draco sat down slightly behind her. She handed him a clip board with and empty page. He smiled once he learned he would not actually have to do any busy work.

Umbridge returned to her interrogation. "Mr Roberts, was it? How exactly did you come into possession of magic? Which unfortunate witch or wizard have you stolen it from?"

The wizard in question frowned. "Stolen? What nonsense is this? I was given my letter to Hogwarts in 1871, the year I turned eleven. I got my wand from Ollivander's where he sold it to me. You can even ask him if you'd like."

"It's rather convenient for you isn't it, that the only person who could possibly vouch for you has been missing for over a year?" Umbridge said as she tsked.

"It's true, I swear it," the man all but shouted as Dementors began to hover around him. Draco hadn't even noticed their presence until that point.

"Mr Roberts, if there is one thing I cannot tolerate, it is a lie," Umbridge said, shaking her head. "I will however give you one more chance to tell the truth, or it will not be pleasant for you."

"It's the truth! I haven't stolen any wands or magic. Please believe me, please!" The man pleaded. His eyes looked desperate and Hermione had to bite the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from saying anything that would ruin her cover.

"Guards, take him away. He shall receive the kiss," Umbridge said as she waved the man away. As the man was dragged out of the room, Umbridge turned to face her, and Hermione's breath hitched slightly as she caught a glimpse of the Slytherin locket around her neck. "Why must they all insist that they haven't stolen their magic? Honestly, it's not as if they could have possessed it naturally!"

Hermione let out a nervous chuckle, "You know how muggleborns are; the entire lot of them are filthy liars!"

"And we're the poor souls who have to waste our time in their presence," Yaxley sneered.

Hermione hated the man with a passion and she internally shuddered. She was thankful, however selfish as it sounded, that she wasn't the one who had to be here under this interrogation. Granted, she would be able to hold her composition, she had a feeling that it wouldn't matter. To Yaxley and Umbridge, there were no correct answers. If you said you didn't steal the magic, you're a liar, but if you lied and said that you did, you were persecuted. However, either way it's a death sentence. Who knows how many muggleborns had already been given the kiss?

The next woman came into the room, looking quite frightened. "I don't k-know where my husband is. He-he promised he would meet me but he hasn't. Please, I promise he'll be here soon," she said with a sob.

Yaxley laughed. "I do not have time to waste on the worries of mudbloods. Now, let's get this over with."

Hermione felt something brush by her lightly, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see no one. "I'm behind you," a voice said, and Hermione jumped. She figured that Harry must have joined the two of them in the room.

Hermione watched full of disgust, as Umbridge and Yaxley took turns mocking the muggleborn witch as she attempted to defend her right to her magic.

She knew that if she waited too long to do something, the pair of them would sentence another person to the Dementor's kiss.

As the toad-like women let out an annoyed huff at Mary Cattermole's cries, Hermione decided to strategically change the subject.

"That's a lovely locket, Dolores. Is it new?" she asked, hoping to get a better view of the Horcrux.

"No, it's a family heirloom. The 'S' stands for Selwyn. You know how it is in the Pureblood community, all of us are somehow related to each other," Umbridge said as she held the locket affectionately.

That liar! Hermione was tempted to call her out on her fib, yet she decided against it.

She gave Umbridge a false smile. "Of course."

Hermione could practically feel the rage surging from Harry as Umbrige conclude her lie. She knew in that instant that her reckless best friend was about to pull something foolish, so she reached for her wand, and kept it close by. She watched as Draco did the same. He had been watching the entire exchange calmly, however she knew that deep down he was just as rattled as she was. He was just better at hiding it than she was.

"Stupefy!" Harry cried out, as he was still concealed under his invisibility cloak. Umbridge crumpled to the floor as the silver cat that had been holding the Dementors at bay came swooping down.

Draco immediately stood as Yaxley began to search the room in confusion. He shot out a stunning spell as well, to knock the man unconscious.

"Harry!" Hermione cried out, as she watched the Dementors begin to swoop around Mrs Cattermole. She would have done the spell herself, but Harry's patronus was twice as strong as her own, and it was not the time to try and prove herself.

"Hermione, I know it was rash, but if you think I'm going to just sit here and let her pretend-" Harry started. He must have assumed that she was questioning his actions.

"No Harry, Mrs Cattermole! You must save her," she exclaimed.

He turned around just in time to cast the patronus charm. She let out a breath as the Death Eaters were pushed away from the lady.

"Grab the Horcrux," Hermione instructed Draco as she opened the door slightly.

"You-you're the one who turned me in!" Mrs Cattermole shrieked as she got a look of Harry's face.

Harry was taken aback by this. "D-did I? Well I've had a change of heart. Hermione, help me with these chains!"

Hermione shook her head. "Scorpious, can you? I need to duplicate the locket in case she wakes up and finds it missing."

Draco nodded, as he cast the spell, "Relashio!" The chains came undone and Mrs Cattermole was freed from the chair.

They rushed out of the room only to be greeted by a room of more muggleborns.

"Right, it has been decided that you should all go home and go into hiding with your families. Go abroad if you can, but just get away. That's the new policy. Now, if you follow the Patronouses, you should be able to get out of here alright," Draco spoke in a diplomatic voice.

Harry and Hermione cast their Patronuses and directed the men and women down the hall.

Hermione led them into the lift. As the lift came to a halt, Ron came in on the stop he was supposed to. She let out a breath of air, thankful that nothing had happened to him.

"Reg!" Mrs. Cattermole shrieked as she threw her arms around him.

Hermione felt like smacking her head against her palm. How could she have been so stupid? They hadn't checked any of their covers for potential spouses. Oh Merlin!

Ron was caught off guard by the woman's sudden embrace. "I uh, sorry, I meant to, I really did, but I uh, got held up!"

They made their way to a bunch of fireplaces, the same ones Harry had told her about when he had come to the ministry the summer before his fifth year.

"Wait," Harry commanded the wizards sealing off the exits. "This lot have got to get through before you seal off the exits."

The wizards were clearly confused by this statement. "We've been told not to let anyone exit the building-" one of them started.

"Are you contradicting me?" Harry asked in a cold voice. "Do you want me to have your entire family tree examined, like I did Dirk Cresswell's?"

The man began to stutter and beg for forgiveness, and Harry responded by informing them that the muggleborns blood were pure, just as pure as theirs. Hermione felt herself smiling at Harry's words, despite herself.

"Mary," A voice called out. Hermione turned to see the real Reg Cattermole make their way over to them.

Mrs Cattermole turned to Ron in surprise. "I-I don't understand. Reg, what's happening?"

"I'm not your husband, go to him!" Ron shouted.

"Reg?"

"Go," Ron commanded. Mrs Cattermole looked stunned but she took his advice and ran to her real husband.

The short lived peace ended quickly as a rush of ministry workers headed their way. Hermione took in a deep breath, thankful that she had at least ten more minutes before the polyjuice potion wore off.

"It was them! They released the muggleborns!" Harry's voice boomed out. This brought out a chaotic state, which the foursome quickly took advantage of. She slipped her hand through Draco's as they rushed to the nearest loo for a place to apparate.

"LETS GO!" Harry shouted, as they joined hands. As the spinning sensation began to occur, she felt a hand latch on to her shoulder. Terrified, she looked up to see Yaxley grabbing on tightly to her.

* * *

**A/N:** This is where I will start to differ from the plot of the book. Some events will still happen, yet others will not. Thank you for your continuous support, and as always, I love hearing feedback from you guys!


	32. The Deathly Hallows

**Chapter 32**

If there was something Ginny Weasley hated more than anything in the world, it was being told she wasn't allowed to do something. For years it seemed like people were always telling her that she couldn't do this or that for some reason or the other. At first, it was just her brothers, who would tell her she couldn't play Quidditch with them because they were afraid she would get hurt. They would always tell her to go off any play with her dolls like a good little girl, while they would then continue their game. She put up with it at first, but one day when she was nine, she had had enough. She put her foot down and demanded her brothers let her play with them. Of course her siblings had been skeptical at first, but eventually they gave in to the pouting kid. She could tell they were going easier on her, and it wasn't until she got hit by a bludger and had started laughing about it, that they forgot she was a girl and treated her like the rest of them.

At school it was different. When someone mocked her for her family or for her interests, she would simply cast a hex upon them. Within a few months people had learned better than to make fun of her. And whenever they would forget and start up again, all it took was the flick of her wrist, and the perpetrators went running.

But this time it was different. Harry had broken up with her to keep her safe, not because he didn't trust her skills, but because he needed to know she would be alright. She loved Harry; maybe not the same way her eleven year old self had worshiped him, but in a mature way. She had never told him how she felt, because even when they got together, she knew it couldn't last. Harry was a Gryffindor through and through; he was far too loyal and noble to every put anyone in danger for him intentionally. It was really hard to be mad at that.

She sighed as she pushed around the food on her plate. She had been back at Hogwarts for a month, and every day she wished she had been allowed not to return. Ever since Snape had taken over, the school had taken a turn for the worse. There were practically no muggleborns, and the few that had returned did everything to stay in the shadows. They received mediocre marks, they didn't talk unless spoke to, and they did nothing that would make them stand out in anyway. In a way, Ginny was glad Hermione hadn't returned. Her friend was far too stubborn to step down from the pedestal she had built for herself, and while Ginny admired her for that, she had seen what happened to the muggleborns who hadn't attempted to hide themselves.

The doors creaked open, and Ginny turned her head to the opening of the Great Hall. However, she was one of the few who did. Whenever anyone came late to a meal, it was always because they were being punished. Most of the students turned their heads away to avoid eye contact with the latest victim, however, Ginny looked; she always looked.

It was Neville this time; it usually was him. Neville had changed completely over the summer; while he was still the same as his usual self, now he was more confident and outspoken. He would often speak out against things he didn't feel were right. Sometimes, she wished he would go back to being shy and trying to draw as little attention to himself as possible; at least then he wouldn't be injured as much. But she admired him for saying everything the rest of them couldn't.

As Neville plopped down beside her, she could see theweariness in his eyes. He was personally standing up for all of them, and Ginny wasn't sure how long it would be until Neville got himself killed for them.

She knew that something had to change. They couldn't get rid of the Death Eaters, but perhaps there was something she could do to make life at the school more bearable. Just enough to keep hope alive at the school.

"Neville, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," Ginny murmured to him in a low voice.

He looked at her interestedly. "And what's that?"

Ginny cast a quick silencing spell around them, these days you never could be too safe. "I want to help you, with the rebellion you're currently holding against the Death Eaters. But I don't want it to be just us. I know a few other people wanted to do something too, and maybe if there are enough of us, we can do some serious damage."

Neville looked at her with a bit of worry. "Harry will never forgive me if something happens to you, you know? Maybe it would be better if you weren't involved. It's one thing that I'm putting myself at risk, that way I'm the only one who suffers. But I'll feel terrible if anything happens to any of you," Neville said as he furrowed his brows.

Ginny scoffed, "I wasn't asking your permission Longbottom. When have I ever needed someone else's approval to do something? And Harry isn't around, is he? He's busy saving the world. And I'm sick and tired of being too young for everything. I want to help too, even if it is for something as tiny as this. I'm doing this whether you like it or not. So are you with me?"

Neville stared at her long and hard before smiling. "What did you have in mind?"

"I want to bring back Dumbledore's Army. He might have died, but he stood for everything we're fighting for. He's still a symbol of the light, and it's only fitting we keep his name as tribute. I want to talk to all the old members and see who's interested in joining up. Then we can do some serious damage to this school."

Neville nodded. "Alright, let's begin recruitment."

* * *

"Where are we?" Ron asked, as they stared at the home in front of them. Hermione took a good look at her surroundings, as she tried to comprehend what had happened. One moment, Yaxley had a death grip on her, and the next they were here. She remembered seeing Grimmauld place for a brief moment, before appearing in front of the house they were at now.

"We were followed. Yaxley and probably the rest of the Death Eaters know where our hideout was. So when Yaxley let go, I quickly apparated us to here," Draco said as he made a gesture to the house.

"And where exactly is that?" Ron asked, as he mimicked Draco's hand movements.

"It's one of my parent's summer home. It's on the country side of England, and it's secluded from both worlds," Draco explained. The house looked to be like it was late Victorian and was obviously very well kept. Hermione stared at the house in awe as she felt her inner historian-self take in the breath taking view of the home. From what she could tell, the house was three floors tall and pastel coloured.

"And no one will know if we stay here?" Hermione asked him curiously but also as a safety precaution.

Draco shook his head. "We have so many homes, and it's not as if my parents can up and take a vacation whenever they want. And no one other than my family knows about the existence of this home so we won't get any unexpected visitors. Besides, there's several protection spells on the house, so only a Malfoy or their guests have free reign over the occupants." Draco unlocked the door to the house and let them all in.

Hermione let out a breath, "Thanks Draco. I'm really sorry guys, if I had noticed before we had apparated that Yaxley was holding on to me, maybe I could have hexed him off," She said as she bent her head sadly.

Draco wrapped an arm around her, and using the other hand, he lifted her face so her eyes met his. "Hermione, it wasn't your fault. It was a tricky escape, and we're lucky we got out of there unharmed."

Harry nodded his head. "As long as we have the locket, then it's worth it. We're all safe and the Death Eaters still has no clue about what we're doing. Thanks to your thinking, Umbridge will never know that her locket went missing."

Ron moaned, "But the roast! I was looking forward to that," he said sadly.

"Ron! We're lucky to be alive!" Hermione scolded. "The lack of homemade food is the least of all of our problems."

"Want me to show you to your new rooms?" Draco asked them. For the first time, Hermione looked around the interior of the home. The walls were decorative and traditional colours. There were portraits gracing most of the walls, but they did not appear to be of family members. In the front hall which they currently stood in, was a winding staircase, leading to a second floor. Thankfully, unlike Hogwarts, the staircase did not move.

"Yes, please," Hermione said, suddenly feeling a rush of tiredness. It had been a long day, and she just wanted to lie down for a bit

Draco gave her an understanding nod as he led them up the stairs. To the right of the stairs was a long hall of rooms, however the doors were all closed. Draco gave the first two rooms to Ron and Harry, who entered immediately. Hermione did not stay to see the rooms they had been given; she continued to follow Draco down the hall for a little while, before he came to a halt.

"This is your room," He said, as he opened the door. She walked in, and saw the room immediately adapt to her likings. The room was now a pale blue colour, and was the size of the sitting room of her home. The bed was right in the centre of the room, and was canopy style, with lacy white curtains descending from the top of the frame. There was also a mahogany desk off in the corner of the room, perfect for her to get work done on.

"And if you need me, my room is just down the room," Draco said softy as he came up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and turned her to face him. He placed a kiss on her forehead as he cupped her face with a single hand.

Hermione smiled softy as she snaked her arms around him. She took in his musky scent as she felt him place another kiss upon her face, however this time his lips grazed her nose.

"I've missed this," she said softly as she kissed his lips tenderly. Over the last month, they had been so caught up in their mission, that the two hadn't had much time for themselves.

"Me too," he admitted as he stole a kiss from her. "I love you, Hermione. And even though we are in the middle of a war, I don't want to wait to tell you. I've loved you for quite some time, but there never seemed to be a right time to say it."

She felt her heart leap at his words. While she had never formulated those words in her mind, she had known for a while that she had strong feelings for Draco; stronger than simply caring for someone or liking them. She was never one to say things she didn't mean.

"I love you too, Draco," she said, and before she knew it, his lips crashed down on hers. He pulled her in tighter and closing off the space between the two of them.

* * *

Draco sat at the table the next morning as Hermione started cooking them some breakfast. He would have offered to help her, but Draco had never cooked a meal in his entire life. Ron and Harry were still upstairs, and Draco assumed that they were still asleep. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face all morning, as her words still echoed through his head. She loved him back. He stood up from the table and walked over to where she was standing. He slipped his arms around her waist as he began to kiss her neck.

Hermione's breath hitched as she dropped on of her hands to squeeze his. She turned her head slightly and Draco took the opportunity to kiss her soft lips.

"Nooo," a voice moaned out from behind them. Draco turned to see Harry staring at them with a frown on his face. "It's too early for kissing!"

Draco smirked at him, "Potter, it's nearly noon!"

"Whatever. Don't want to see it," he said as he plopped down unto a chair at the table.

Hermione shoved Draco aside lightly as she turned off the heat on the stove top. She then levitated the food onto the table with her wand and placed a few pancakes on each of their plates.

"Food?" Ron cried out as he rushed down the stairs to the kitchen. "Oh Merlin, these smell so good!" he exclaimed as he began to stuff the food down his throat.

"Pace yourself," Hermione scolded her friend lightly, as she and Draco joined them at the table.

"Mhmm," Ron sighed.

The old Draco would have been disgusted at his table manners. He probably also would have thrown in a few retorts about the way he was raised and how Ron was acting like a pig. However, the new Draco simply laughed.

After breakfast had passed, Hermione placed a book on the table. "Now that we've eaten, I need your help with something," she said to the three of them. Draco looked at the book, and saw that it was none other than the book that Dumbledore had bequeathed to her.

She turned the book until she reached a page with Dumbledore's inscription to her. Next, she brought out another book, which Draco saw to be called "The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore". Immediately, his eyes widened. While he hadn't read the book himself, he had read the article by Rita Skeeter in the paper where she spoke of the book and the story she had created.

"Where did you get that?" Harry demanded as he pointed to the book angrily.

"Umbridge was reading it. I grabbed it because I wanted to see if there was anything useful in it," Hermione replied.

"It's bloody Rita Skeeter, how could it have any use?" Ron asked.

"She lies about everything!" Harry exclaimed furiously.

"Yes, she does. But there is a basis for all her lies. That story she spun of us together stemmed from a picture of us hugging. While the story was false, there was something for her to build it upon," Hermione said calmly.

Draco remembered reading about that too. He felt slightly guilty, knowing that he was responsible for half the lies spread about the golden trio.

"So even though very little of it may actually be accurate, there must be a little truth behind it," Hermione reasoned.

"Have you read it all already?" Harry asked as he raised a brow. When Hermione blushed, he chuckled. "Of course you did. Well, how bad was it?"

Hermione fidgeted. "It was definitely written by her…"

Harry groaned. "Can I read it after? I want to know what she said exactly."

"It might be better if you don't, Harry," Hermione tried to pursue him.

Draco knew Harry wasn't going to give in too easily, but it was far too early for an argument. "So Hermione, what was it that you wanted to show us?"

Hermione's eyes snapped to him, "What? Oh yes!" she quickly flipped Skeeter's garbage to a certain page. On it appeared to be a letter from Dumbledore to Grindelwald. Draco quickly skimmed the contents of the letter, and his eyes widened in shock. Dumbledore was spurting out similar thoughts to the ones that You-Know-Who was using as ideals for his war.

"Is this real?" Harry said at last as he finished reading the letter. He had a grim look on his face, and Draco could imagine the thoughts going through his mind.

"Yes," Hermione said. "But a lot has changed since then, you don't know what he's been through, and neither do I. He was young then," Hermione said, trying to defend their former mentor.

"No! He's the exact same age as we were, and here we are saving the world, where as he's trying to destroy it," Harry nearly shouted.

"Harry, Dumbledore was over a hundred years when he died. This letter was decades ago. Yes, Dumbledore probably was always incredibly wise, but some of that came from age. He was foolish once; don't tell me you've never done something to feel more powerful?" Draco said, trying to reason.

He watched the wizard shake his head. "I don't want power, nor do I want fame. Yet he seems to be grasping it with open arms. It's like I never even knew him."

"Harry, you did, mate," Ron said softly. "You knew him better than probably anyone. He would have told you, but I bet he felt really ashamed of it. Wouldn't you?"

Harry sighed softly, "You're right. You all are. Hermione, what were you trying to draw our attention to?"

Hermione, once again, had nearly forgotten about what she wanted to show them. "Here," she said as she pointed to Dumbledore's signature in the 'Tales of the Beedle and the Bard'. The A of Albus appeared to be a triangle with a stick and circle inscribed in it. She then pointed to the biography and there was the exact same mark. "That cannot be a coincidence," she said.

Ron and Harry both shook their heads at the symbol.

"You're the one who took Ancient Runes," Ron said.

"Xenophilius Lovegood was wearing a necklace at Bill's wedding," Harry said. "Krum asked me about it, and said it was Grindelwald's mark. And if both Dumbledore and Grindelwald used it, maybe that's what he was trying to tell you?"

Draco however remained silent. He knew exactly what it was.

"Draco?" Hermione prompted once she realised that he was still silent.

"No. It's older than that; much older. That's the sign of the Deathly Hallows."


	33. Taking Action

**Chapter 33**

"Neville, I want to do more," Ginny complained as she threw a pillow in the common room angrily to the ground.

The fire flickered with life as Neville looked up from the herbology book he had been reading. "Ginny, we got together the remaining Dumbledore's Army who still go here, and managed to recruit several new members. In our free time, we wreak havoc in the school, and give the Death Eaters hell."

"But it doesn't feel like enough! It won't help Harry in his mission to know that a few Death Eaters are suffering. I want to do more, Neville, and this just isn't cutting it."

"Ginny," Neville said softly, as he stood up from his chair and sat down on the couch beside her. He placed a hand on her arm and looked at her, "Harry still loves you, even though he ended it with you. You remember why he did that; to keep you safe. And he won't think any less of you for not being able to do any more than you can."

"I know, Neville, I know. But I need to do something. It's killing me to sit back, we talked about that."

"Okay, and what do you want to do then?" Neville questioned her.

Ginny was silent for a long time before responding, "I want to steal the sword of Gryffindor from Snape."

Neville's jaw dropped, "Ginny, you've got to be kidding. There's no way that we could do it successfully."

"It's his by Dumbledore's will. He wouldn't have wanted Harry to have it if there wasn't a reason behind it. And if the Ministry refuses to get it to him, then I want to get it to him myself. If there is something I can do to help him, then I have to Neville. It's great to annoy the hell out of these Death Eaters, but I need to do something to make a change.

"Okay, Gin. Okay. Let's do it tonight; you, me, and Luna. It's always been the three of us through everything; it should be the three of us through this too."

* * *

The three met in front of the Great Hall that night at midnight. Neville looked slightly nervous; however to an onlooker who did not know him, they would not have suspected a thing.

Ginny cast a disillusion charm upon them and then a silencing spell. That way it would be easier to communicate without fear of being heard. She had no idea how muggles managed to get anything done without magic; not because she thought they were inferior, but because magic made their lives so much easier and she couldn't picture a life without it.

"It's in Snape's office, in a glass box by his portraits. At least it was there when Dumbledore was still Headmaster. For all we know, Snape might have hidden it since then," Neville said as they walked down the hallways.

Ginny loved Hogwarts with all her heart, but she would be lying if she said she didn't find the school to be slightly scary at night, especially with the current unwanted habitants.

"It's still there," Ginny said firmly. "I saw it about a month ago when one of the Carrows sent me to his office for badmouthing Voldemort."

"Yes, and I do wish you would stop doing that. It's great to see someone put those horrid people in their place, but one of these days Snape is going to snap and your punishment isn't going to be pretty. He didn't get to be one of Voldemort's most trusted followers without killing a few souls," Neville said with a sigh.

Ginny scoffed, "What could the coward do to me? I don't think he could hurt any of us to be honest; he's far too soft and weak to do that."

"I would still be careful if I were you, Ginny. You never know when trouble may strike," Luna's voice spoke softly. Ginny nearly stopped in her tracks when she heard the tone of Luna's voice. It was so lucid, compared to how dream like her voice usually sounded. Luna must have been quite worried to awake from her trance.

She sighed. "Okay, I'll lay down on the provoking. I can't help it though. Every time I see him, I'm reminded of the way he betrayed Dumbledore, the way he betrayed all of us."

By then, they had arrived at the door of Dumbledore's old office.

"We don't know the password!" Neville hissed nervously from behind her.

"Then we'll just have to guess," Ginny as she turned away from her friends. Her deep red hair covered the side of her face like a veil, blocking them from her vision" the door didn't budge. "Dark Lord? Death Eater? Mudblood?" Nothing. "Blood Purity." The door did not even appear to have moved in the slightest.

"I got nothing," she said, as she turned to face her friends.

Neville have her a defeated shrug, but Luna stepped forward.

"Let me try," she said, as the soft texture returned to her voice. "Dumbledore."

Ginny didn't want to believe it. It seemed like a cruel joke that Luna would even suggest such a thing. But as Ginny turned to look at the door, she was surprised to see that they had opened.

"That bastard," Ginny hissed. "How does he live with himself? After everything he's done, he goes and takes the name of the poor trusting soul that he murdered? Dumbledore begged with him! He pleaded for his life; and that bastard kills him anyway, and then changes the password to Dumbledore's office to his name?"

"We should go in Ginny. If we wait too long, we could get caught, and that wouldn't be pleasant for any of us," Luna said again in a soft tone. She didn't appear to be surprised by Snape's choice of a password.

"Fine," she said, as she pushed open the doors to Dumbledore's old domain. "Let's get the sword and get out of here as quick as possible."

The portraits on the wall were in deep sleep when they entered the office. They knew now that they had to be quieter than they had been through any of this mission so far. If so much as one portrait woke up, then they could kiss their chances of getting the sword out good bye.

Ginny walked carefully over to where the sword had been a few months ago. The sword was sitting there, glistening in all its glory. The sword looked exactly the same as it had five years ago when Harry had pulled it out of the hat. She still remembered waking up to find Harry kneeling on the ground, in a puddle of blood as his arm was cut open to the bone. She had been terrified that he was going to die, and it would have been her fault. It had been the first time she had come into contact with Harry's noble complex.

She had cried when she saw him there like that. But thankfully for her Fawkes had come to his rescue and cried its magical tears onto his arm and healed him. Ginny had no idea what Harry needed the sword for, but if it would help him, she had to get it to him.

She carefully lifted the box over the sword and handed it to Neville. He looked nervous as he held the box, afraid that with one wrong move, it would fall to the ground.

Ginny lifted the sword ever so carefully from the stand. She instantly felt a surge of magic flow through her, and it was as if Gryffindor's bravery had been passed to her in that moment.

"Not to sound nervous, but we probably should get going," Neville said, as his voice brought her back to the moment.

"Let's go," she said. As the three of them turned around, they were met face to face with a joyous looking Filch.

"My, my, students out of bed," he said with a twisted smile. "How the Headmaster will punish you." He stroked Mrs. Norris' fur.

"We should knock him out," Luna said with a smile.

Ginny nearly started laughing at her sudden outburst. Luna had changed over the past few months at the school as well. She had not only gained a lot of insight into some matters, but she also managed to stay true to who she had been before all of this.

"I agree," Ginny said. "_Petrificus Totalus_" she said softly.

The caretaker's body instantly stiffened as he fell to the ground with a '_Thud'_. Unfortunately for the three of them, the sound woke up one of the portraits. And when you wake up one portrait, you wake them all up.

* * *

Blaise looked around nervously, as he walked down the streets in Diagon Alley. It had been roughly two months since he had turned down Voldemort's offer of joining up with the Death Eaters, and so far there had been no consequences.

"_I don't want to join up with you," Blaise said, as he attempted to keep his voice as levelled as possible. _

_He had no idea where he currently was, and all he did know was that the room was dimly lit by a few floating candles. Blaise supposed that Voldemort wanted that eerie effect to scare the new comers. He was standing in the centre of a circle comprised of Death Eaters. They each had their masks on, however Blaise had a feeling he knew who each of them were. To the direct right of him was Lucius Malfoy, father of the friend he just lost. To his right stood Nott Sr, Yaxley, Travers, and Rookwood, and on Malfoy's left was Dolohov and Pettigrew. Standing directly beside Voldemort was Bellatrix Lestrange and Rodolphus. _

_The Death Eaters chuckled to themselves. _

"_Oh? And why is that Mr. Zabini?" Voldemort's low voice hissed out softly. "Are you too afraid to join my forces? Are you afraid that you will die? Or simply that you are too much of a coward to stand up for what you believe in?"_

"_None of that. I'm not afraid, but I do not wish to end up like Draco. My Lord, I may believe one hundred percent in the need for blood purity, but I still am a Slytherin through and through. I care for my personal safety above all else. So because of that, I do not think I will be joining you tonight. I am sorry for the disappointment."_

"_Young Malfoy died a valiant death for our cause, and he is esteemed in the highest. It is due to his work that the second greatest wizard this era has seen has died, and because of him that our mission is one step closer to ridding ourselves of the mudbloods of this world. Don't you want glory? Or the fame and power associated with the job?"_

"_No, my Lord. I do not seek greatness, I seek self-preservation."_

_Voldemort's lip twitched, "I see that there is no changing your mind. Well, so be it then."_

He had felt that it had been slightly too easy, the way that Voldemort let him off so easily. Theo wouldn't have gone into hiding if he knew that you could just say no. But as time went on and Blaise saw no signs of harm coming his way, he lowered his guard.

But something felt off today; it felt as if he was being watched, and even followed. He turned around but the street behind him was abandoned. There was no one anywhere near him and no one as far as he could see. Blaise turned back to the path ahead of him and kept walking as he picked up the pace. All he needed to do was get to the store and pick up a few supplies and then get out. He hated leaving his house without reason, but he knew that ever so often he had to leave.

Blaise had chosen not to return to Hogwarts. He knew that there wasn't much of a choice anymore, however there was very little that money couldn't buy. Voldemort's cause always needed more funding and throwing a few thousand galleons his way seemed to get the 'Ministry' off of his back about not returning to school.

Suddenly, he felt his body stiffen. He couldn't move, or even catch himself as his body hit the ground. He turned to try and see his attackers face, but he was met with a mask.

"W-who are you?" he cried out.

His attackers held out their wand and even though Blaise couldn't see their face, he could have sworn that there was a smirk plastered across his face.

"Not so brave now are you, little Slytherin?"

He knew that voice; that strong deep make voice. However, before he could place it, he was met with darkness.

* * *

Blaise woke up to darkness. Where was he? How long had it been before he had woken up? There was a sort of magical bond over his hands.

"Ah, Mr Zabini, I see you're awake now," a cold voice called out through the room. "Did you have a nice nap?"

"Who's there? Let me go you bastards!" Blaise cried out, as he struggled through the bonds.

"Language Mr. Zabini. It's not nice to speak so impolitely. Didn't your pureblood mother raise you better than that? Oh that's right, she was too busy whoring herself out for money to care about taking care of you."

"Don't you dare speak about my mother, you son of a bitch. She is far better of a person that you could ever be."

"Don't speak to the Lord like that," a woman screeched out. Bellatrix. She raised her wand at her him and cursed him, "_Crucio_,"

He felt pain surge through his body as he lost all logical thoughts. "Ahhh!" he cried out.

"Zabini, did you really believe you would get off that easily? Now, I will give you one more chance to change your mind. Will you, or won't you work for me?"

"Never!" Blaise sputtered out in pain. "You can kill me, but there is no way in hell that I will work for you willingly."

Voldemort laughed, and Blaise felt his ears bleed at the sound. "I thought you might say that. But Zabini, remember how you said you were one hundred percent Slytherin? I find that statement to be false. You see, I think that you have a bit of a Gryffindor complex to you. You may not be brave or noble, but you have the stupid self-sacrificing quality. So maybe you won't join for us, but what about your dear old mother?"

"She's safe from you and your Death Eaters," Blaise said, attempting to keep calm.

"Is she now? I heard that your latest stepfather passed away, and that your mother already has her eyes set on someone else. Yaxley, I believe it was?"

"You're lying!"

Voldemort only curled his lips into a smile as he waved his hand. Before him, he saw his mother, off on a date with another wizard. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was indeed Yaxley accompanying her."

"How do I know that it isn't just a vision you created?" Blaise trembled.

"You don't."

"You wouldn't do a thing to her! It's me you want!" he pleaded.

"Ah yes, but I have long learned how valuable leverage is. Now you see this can go two ways. You can either accept to join up with me, and have your mother spared, or you can decline. If you chose the second option, then Yaxley will kill your mother, and I shall place you under the Imperius curse. So the choice is up to you."

There wasn't a choice, not really. One way his mother would live, and the other she would die. And either way he would be stuck as a Death Eater.

"Fine, I'll do it. Just leave my mother out of this," Blaise said, accepting defeat.

"I knew you would see it my way." Voldemort said arrogantly. "They always do."

The other Death Eaters laughed and their cruel voices filled the room. The candles seemed to gain more light and it heightened the shadows on the walls.

He didn't want this life, but he wouldn't do what either of his friends did. He wouldn't run like Theo or give in like Draco. If he was going to do this, then he wasn't going down without a fight.

The journey he was going to take would be difficult; he would have to master some of the highest forms of magic, and the most complicated ones. But he wouldn't just let Voldemort wave his wand and threaten him. If Blaise Zabini was one thing, it was strong minded. His mother used to complain that Blaise would never give in easily when he didn't want to do something. But once he saw that it wasn't going his way, he would take a step back, and reassess the situation. He would then take a different approach and get his way. He didn't care was Voldemort said about him being like a Gryffindor, maybe he did have a bit of the dorky house's tendency, but he was still far more of a Slytherin than Voldemort was going to give him credit for. And if it took playing Voldemort's good, obedient dog to get him what he wanted, then he would do that. But he would bring Voldemort down, and everyone who follows him. He would wipe the smiles right off of their tainted faces. He would do it for Draco, and for every other soul who got wrapped up and it was too late for. He would bring down his entire empire, and when he did, he would finally have achieved what he wanted: his freedom.

"So when do I start?"

* * *

**A/N:** Hello everybody. So next week, I will be gone on a trip, leaving on Friday morning and only coming back on late Sunday. Now because I am gone, if I have time, during the week I will try and write a chapter to post when I get back; however, if I do not, there will be no chapter for next week. And once again, thank you for all the continuous support. It means a lot to receive your feedback and know what I can improve on.


	34. Learning about Horcruxes

**Chapter 34**

Hermione groaned as she rubbed her temples. She was currently sitting in the expansive library at the Malfoy cottage and reading through several dark books. When she had first made her way into the ancient looking room, she had been shocked. While it would have made sense for there to be a lot of books in the library in the Malfoy Manor, she had not expected a summer home to be so well equipped.

Once they had learned of the Deathly Hallows from Draco, and the story behind them, Hermione had added it to her research list. Thankfully, it was a lot easier to find out about the early history of the artifacts from books. However, as the years progressed, it had become harder to track them, and they had been almost erased from existence. She had no idea what Dumbledore was trying to do by pointing them out to her, but she was nearly certain that there had to be some major significance or he wouldn't have done so.

Unfortunately, the lack of resources in the current whereabouts of the artefacts made the Hallows a minor priority, and she did not spend too much time looking into them.

It had been a few weeks since they had arrived at the home, now somewhere into November, and so far they were no further along in destroying the locket than they were in finding any other potential Horcruxes. Sure, they had ideas of what Voldemort could have chosen, but they were just that, ideas.

"Hermione, love, you should take a break," a voice called out from behind her. She turned quickly around. It was seven in the morning, and the boys were never up just yet. It was nice because it gave her the quiet time she needed to do some serious reading.

"Draco? What are you doing up?" She asked as he swooped down beside her to place a chaste kiss upon her lips.

His hair was wet, and she could tell from his aftershave that he had showered recently. She took in a deep breath to intake his sweet yet musky scent. She liked seeing him this way, he seemed more relaxed, despite the ongoing war, and even happier than she had seen him in school.

"I thought you would be more excited to see me," he teased. "Merlin, Granger, I swear it's almost as if you care more for these books than for me."

"What? That's not true! I love books, but they could never replace the people in my life," she argued back.

Draco smirked as he sat down across from her and placed his feet upon the table. "Relax Hermione, I was just joking around with you," he said, as his face softened slightly.

"Not very funny," she muttered as she shook her head at him. "And get your feet off the table! It's disrespectful," she said, as she attempted to push them off.

"My house, my rules; I can do whatever I want here," He said, with that haughty look reappearing on his face. It was similar to the one that he used to wear around her presence before he had joined their side, and she hadn't seen it in so long. But the version he was wearing now was far more toned down.

She huffed, "I know, you keep reminding me," she said softly. And it was true. It wasn't intentional, but she felt someone or the other reminding her that this was Malfoy property, and despite Draco saying that no one would ever come here, she couldn't help but worry.

"It doesn't have to be," he said suddenly after pausing for a moment. "Just my home I mean."

She blinked, "Sorry?" she asked him, confusedly.

He took a deep breath, "If we were together, then it could be yours too. Not just as boyfriend and girlfriend, but as a family. Before you freak out, just know that what I'm suggesting is for long after the war is over. I just want you to know that if you'll have me, I'd like to have a future with you," he said hurriedly.

She felt her heart swell at these words, "Do you mean it?" she asked him with a smile.

Hermione could have sworn that his eyes widened at her words. "Yes, Hermione; I want to marry you one day, and spend every moment of the rest of my life with you. I want us to have many, many children together, and grandchildren. I want us to be with each other, and I never want to let you go."

She grabbed his robes and pulled him into a kiss. He was resistant due to surprise at first, but once he got over his initial shock, he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her back.

Hermione pulled away from him a moment later. "Draco, I'd love to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you more than anything in the world," she said softly.

He smiled, "Do you need any help with your research? I can't imagine it being easy to go through all of these books alone," he asked her.

Her eyes lit up. Harry and Ron had always tried to help her out in the past, but they were never able to get too far into each book before giving up. She blamed their ability on their previous lack of studious skills through the years. Draco, on the other hand, was just as studious as her, and she guessed it was due to the pressure that his father had placed on him during his younger years. Hermione often used to see Draco in a corner of the library studying whatever material they had covered that day. It annoyed her slightly at the time, because it felt as if he were almost imposing on her sanctuary, but he never acknowledged her, so she never had to deal with a confrontation.

Hermione would never admit it to anyone else, but she used to watch him at times. She used to get curious about him and how he acted when he wasn't in her, or Ron and Harry's presence, but all she ever saw was a quiet boy. She would have expected him to bring his entourage to the library where they would create some sort of ruckus to bother the other occupants; however there was never anything of the sort. It frustrated her beyond reason to see him act so different in the library than he did in the rest of the school. How could he act like two different people when in different locations?

Looking back on it now, she saw that the Draco Malfoy she had seen around the school was a mask; one that he had created when he was in the presence of anyone else, sculpted by his upbringing. But in the library there was no one who would report back to his father, so he dropped the act. He was more relaxed in his behaviour and would rarely insult a soul, unless they had done something which could threaten his charade.

She smiled, "Yes that would be wonderful. If it's two of us, then we should be able to clear through most of these books, as I doubt most of them even have what we're looking for.

Several hours passed and Hermione and Draco were no further along in finding any information about the Horcruxes. Ron and Harry had come into the room various times, for one thing or another, but Hermione ended up yelling at the pair to leave the room out of frustration. Thankfully, the two had seen her around exam time and knew not to be offended by her crass behaviour.

"This is useless," Hermione said annoyed, as she pushed her chair away from the desk. "We're getting absolutely nowhere near finding anything!"

Draco looked up tiredly from the book he had been reading, "Hermione, take in a deep breath; it's okay. We will find something eventually, you just need to take a break. How about we go to the kitchen and grab something to eat?"

She sighed, "Yes, I think that will be a good idea. I don't know how much longer I can look at these books."

So the two of them made their way down to the kitchen, where Ron and Harry were playing a game of wizarding chess, which they must have found around the house.

"Giving up?" Ron asked them sympathetically. "Can't say I blame you. Those books are so massive, that it's nearly impossible to find anything in them. It's a shame there's no short cut that you could just use to find what you need…why are you looking at me that way?" He asked them, when he realised they had both turned their attention to him full on.

"Ron, you are brilliant, I don't think I tell you that enough!" Hermione said, as she wrapped her arms around him.

"I can't believe I hadn't thought of it until now," Draco murmured under his breath.

Ron, and now Harry, both looked perplexed at what had just happened. "Er, someone mind explaining whatever just happened to me?" Ron asked them.

Harry simply shrugged, "Like I would know. You know, I think I miss when it was just Hermione; it used to just be her who got excited when she made a revelation, but now it's the two of them. Makes it harder to keep up."

"_Accio books_," Hermione said with a wave of her wand. Before long, several old books made their way to the kitchen table where they were seated at.

"_Invenio Horcruxes," _Draco said, and suddenly the books rose about a foot into the air and had begun flipping through themselves.

Hermione saw that the books both still appeared to be heavily confused, "It's searching for Horcruxes; the books will find any information that they have on the matter and turn to the according page. However, if there are no mentions of the material the book is searching for, the book will simply close, like that one," she said, as she pointed out a book that closed and dropped back to the table.

"Oh…that makes sense. So why didn't you just do that from the start?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, knowing instantly that Ron would happily take the credit for giving her the idea. Granted, he hadn't even known that such a spell had existed, and she had simply forgotten it, but it would not stop him.

"Because we forgot; and before you go there, yes you helped us, good job," she said, as she continued to watch the books flip. Several of them had been shut close and she was beginning to lose hope that there was any information even available in the books.

Ron still grinned to himself like an idiot, and she saw Harry crack a smile at their friend's reaction.

There was only one book left in the air, and she could see the disappointment written all over her companions' faces. She hadn't expected mountains of information, but with every passing second she was losing hope of ever finding anything in the Malfoy house. That is, she was until the last book fell to the table, open to a page.

She gasped, so their search had not been in vain. The page was titled _'Horcruxes and their properties'_, and appeared to be handwritten. She could tell the book was easily several centuries old, which caused her to wonder how many other witches or wizards had attempted, or succeeded to create a Horcrux in the past, aside from Voldemort.

_Horcruxes are arguably one of the darkest forms of magic known to mankind. The original creator of the Horcrux was Herpo to Foul, known to have also created the first Basilisk hatching a chicken egg under a toad to create the King of Serpents. _

Hermione decided to skim read over the next section, which talked more about Herpo. She also skipped over the creation methods, as they were dark and horrid, and made her rather ill to think about. It shocked her that anyone could do such a thing once, yet alone several times, as Voldemort clearly had. Draco was reading rapidly over her shoulder, while Ron and Harry were waiting intently for any news about the dark artifacts.

_A Horcrux can be destroyed in one of several ways. If the creator feels remorse for their actions, the creation can be reversed, and the soul restored to the body. This method is highly dangerous and can be fatal in some cases. The venom from a basilisk fang is also capable of destroying a Horcrux, as phoenix tears are the only known antidote against the poison, and the spell _Fiendfire _may be used as well._

Her eyes widened as she finished reading the passage. She exchanged a look with Draco, who looked sick from reading about the creation of the Horcruxes, however she was unable to dwell upon the fact, as she had just found what she needed.

She filled in the boys about her readings, and as she finished doing so, she remembered something she had heard long ago, about the Sword of Gryffindor.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted out. "Dumbledore left you the sword for a reason! In your second year, you stabbed the basilisk and due to the highly absorbent property of the sword, it was able to absorb the venom from the serpent. Because of this, the sword can be used to destroy the Horcruxes."

He looked shocked at her revelation, "That's brilliant 'Mione! We're one step closer to taking him down."

Draco smiled and wrapped his arms around her before whispering into her ear, "And then we can start our life together; just you and me, and no one else."

"What was that?" Ron asked, as he sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"Did you just say what I thought you did?" Harry demanded.

Hermione's cheeks coloured a light pink, but Draco's arms stayed around her, and his expression had not changed once.

"Yes. When this is all over, I want to marry Hermione. I already told her my intentions of spending the rest of my life with her, and thankfully for me, she has agreed.

"That's wonderful," Harry said with a smile. "I'm happy for the both of you."

"I just wish we could take Voldemort down soon, before anyone else has to die," Hermione said softly.

"I agree," Draco said, as he kissed her head softly.

She was about to say something, when she heard an alarm go off. "It's one of the wards, they've been breached!" Hermione exclaimed, as she quickly stood up.

Draco immediately understood, and hastily made his way over to the window. "Death Eaters; there are at least four of them. We need to leave now!" Draco shouted.

Hermione got her wand out again, and began to summon all their belongings into the bag. Ron and Harry raided the fridge for any food they had to take with them, and Draco added as many wards under the existing ones to buy them a bit more time.

"Do you have everything?" Draco asked her, as he struggled to hold up the wards. The Death Eaters would be in the cottage, and Hermione knew that they had no choice but to leave.

"YES!" she shouted out. The boys immediately grabbed onto her, and she apparated to the first place she could think of; the Forest of Dean.

* * *

Narcissa watched as the Dark Lord took turns cursing a group of Snatchers. They had returned to her home a few hours back and informed him that they had seen Harry Potter and had made an attempt to procure him, however they had failed. Unfortunately for them, Voldemort did not take to well to this news.

Voldemort released the Cruciatus curse from one of the Snatchers. "You mean to tell me that you had Harry Potter in your vision, and you did not succeed to obtain him? Your job isn't just to find the worthless mudbloods and dispose them. It isn't simply to track down the idiots who believe they have the right to say my name. It's to gather as much intelligence on the Order and bring me those who disobey my rule. And Harry Potter definitely counts under that category. So why did you fail to get him?"

"P-P-Pardon me my Lord. The house was so well warded that by time we managed to break through the different protection spells, they were long gone," one of the Snatchers said, and Narcissa could hear his voice plead for mercy.

She felt sorry for them, and wished she could do something to help but she knew better than to act on her desires. So instead, Narcissa held her head up high, trying to show off the dignity she had spent years mastering as a child.

"Where?" Voldemort hissed. "Where was this house that they were hiding at?!"

"It was a Malfoy property, my Lord."

Narcissa had to try very hard not to react to that statement. There was no way Potter and his companions could have been on a Malfoy property. They wouldn't have had any idea where it was located, and the wards would not let them in without consent from a Malfoy themselves. Unless. Unless it was Draco who had let them in the house.

She took a deep breath. If it was, then it would make sense why they were there. But it also raised a series of questions. She knew that Draco was alive, and this basically confirmed it. But she did not know what he was doing with the Potter trio. Why was he placing himself in a place of danger? Surely, for a person on the run, there must have been a safer place?

"Oh?" Voldemort's cold voice said. "Narcissa, how is this possible?"

Narcissa shook her head. "I do not know my Lord. No one has visited that property in years, so the wards were probably out of date. It is possible that the Potter child managed to get in with the help of his mudblood. However, due to this new progress, I believe it is important that I visit the cottage and strengthen the barriers around the house."

Voldemort nodded. "You may leave; take your husband and return as soon as you are done."

Narcissa looked around the cottage, as Lucius helped put up the wards once more. There was not a thing out of place, and if Narcissa didn't know any better she would not have known that anyone had been there at all.

She closed her eyes as Lucius came to her. He saw a look of distress on her face, and immediately he wrapped his arms around her.

"Where ever he is, he's alright Narcissa. If he's with Potter, then it is as a companion, not a prisoner. Potter and his friends are too compassionate to drag Draco with them unwillingly. He's safe, I promise you."

Narcissa cried into her husband's chest, as she tried to let Lucius' words sooth her. After a while she pulled away and wiped her face. She cast a quick cleaning charm upon her face, before pulling out her wand.

"It's getting late, we should return back," she said quietly. Lucius took her hand and the two returned to their imprisoned home.


	35. In The Woods

**Chapter 35**

It had definitely been a long couple months in the woods. Theo would be lying if he said it wasn't. Just because he had been in slightly better shape than Dirk didn't mean that he was well adapted for the lifestyle. He was a Pureblood, born and raised to live with nothing less of the best, and living on the run was not something he was used to.

But it was no longer just the two of them. In the months after he ran away from the Wizarding world, it had taken a turn for the worse. With Voldemort taking over the Ministry, it seemed like no one was safe. Ted Tonks, the husband of the outcast Black sister had joined up with them just last month in an attempt to keep his family safe.

Dean Thomas however was an entirely different story. The boy, like many other muggleborns, had left his family in an attempt to keep them safe. When Ted, Theo, and Dirk had found him, the boy was freezing, starving, and almost half dead.

The sight of the former Gryffindor had left them all stunned. However, as soon as Thomas spotted them, he immediately had pulled his wand on the Slytherin.

_"I'm warning you, stay away. I'm not afraid to hex you, you Death Eater," Thomas threatened. He staggered up from the area he was huddling in and attempted to fling a curse._

_Thankfully for him, Ted stepped up. He held up his arms. "Dean, you remember me right? Nymphadora's father; we met at the Christmas party a few years ago."_

_Dean looked conflicted. He appeared to be recalling a memory; however the look of distrust did not leave his face._

_"I remember you. But it doesn't explain why you're with him. How do I know you're not trying to catch me and turn me in for the Muggle Registration? Ted Tonks may have already been captured, and you could be impersonating him under a Polyjuice potion."_

_Ted drew out his wand, and immediately Dean tried to stun him. Thankfully, the wizard's aim was poor due to his lack of nutrition. _

_"I'm not going to hex you; I'm going to cast an enchantment removing spell upon myself, so that if your accusations were correct, then my true self would be revealed."_

_Dean nodded in agreement. "Okay, but if you try anything funny, I won't miss next time!" he said, trying to cover up for his previous attempt at a spell._

_"Finite Incantatem" Ted said, and as the white light surrounded him, Ted Tonks' appearance did not change._

_"Does that satisfy your concern, Dean?" Ted asked him, not unkindly._

_Dean looked relieved as he dropped his tense mask for a moment; however, it was immediately placed back on his face when he remembered that Theo was among them._

_"It doesn't explain him still," Dean said with a glare in Theo's direction. "Why exactly are you with a Death Eater if you're supposed to be on the run for them?"_

_"I'm not a Death Eater, Thomas. I'm on the run because I don't want to be one," Theo said with a sigh. He didn't like telling people about it; it was his own business and no one else but his. But due to his father's history and reputation, Theo did not have the luxury of being private about his intentions. _

_Thomas was probably one of the most cynical people on the planet, as he did not appear to believe Theo's story. But Theo didn't blame him; he probably would be sceptical too if he was placed in Thomas' situation._

_Theo rolled up his sleeve to reveal his empty left forearm. "See, no Dark Mark." When Dean looked expectantly at his other arm, Theo let out an exasperated sigh as he rolled up the other sleeve as well. "Does that satisfy your curiosity, Thomas?"_

_"Yes, for now. But if I find that you somehow managed to conceal your mark, I won't hesitate to kill you."_

_"Why are you on the run, Dean?" Ted asked him softly. _

_"I don't know about my parentage. My mum's a muggle, but my father left us at a young age. I have no way of knowing if he was a wizard and no way of knowing what that makes me. Honestly, even though I'm enjoyed my upbringing, I can't help but wonder if he is a wizard, because it meant that I wouldn't have to be here."_

_Tonks sat him down and pulled out some of the food they had in storage. He heated it up with his wand and gave it to the young runaway._

_"Here, eat this. It will make you feel better," Ted said gently as he handed the boy some food._

Dean might have been civil to Theo over the course of the last month, but it was only recently that he was starting to warm up to him. While the boys may have had their differences in the past, they were able to get along together for a mutual benefit so they could both survive.

There were also two Goblins, Griphook and Gornuk, who had only recently joined up with them. It seemed that Voldemort was no kinder to Goblins than he was to other wizards who had failed him.

And now, they were all sitting around a fire, attempting to keep warm while they talked about why they were on the run and what they had done prior to their exile. They took turns reminiscing about things they missed from civilization.

"I miss football," Dean said with a dreamy look upon his face. "I haven't heard any news about what has been happening in the game and I would give anything to know the score of the latest match."

While Ted appeared to know what he was talking about, Theo had no idea. "What's football?"

Dean looked at him incredulously. "You've never heard of it? How is that even possible? Do all purebloods live under a rock or something?"

From the corner of his eye, Theo could see Ted smirk as he raised a cup to his lips in an attempt to hide his actions.

Theo gave the Gryffindork a glare. "I have no idea what any of that even meant, but I am going to assume you are being ignorant about the pureblood upbringing. I have no reservation towards those of other blood statuses but I grew up as a pureblood, which means I have no knowledge of the muggle world, and any sort of things they fancy."

Dean Thomas raised his hands in defence, "I get it, I get it. Football is only the greatest sport to exist ever. Basically, like Quidditch you have two teams, and each of these teams have different positions. There's only one ball, however, which both teams need to use to aim into the other teams' net, which there is only one of too. They can only kick the ball, and if anyone but the goalie, who's like a keeper, touches the ball, there's a free shot. The offences' job is to try and score it into the net, whereas the defence are supposed to protect the keeper. And then there's the midfield who are supposed to assist both the positions."

Theo looked confused, "But why would anyone want to kick a ball?" he asked the others, completely baffled. "Doesn't it crush your toes? If anyone attempted to kick a quaffle they would be in immense pain."

Ted and Dean burst into laughter. Even Dirk, who had been silent the entire time, cracked a smile. The only ones who didn't react were the two Goblins, who currently were huddled near each other and were discussing something among themselves very quietly.

"The ball is virtually weightless, so kicking it couldn't hurt you at all," Ted explained. He picked up a rock near where they were sitting and using his wand, he transfigured it into a ball that was white in colour but had black hexagons patterned all over it. "Here, give it a kick."

Theo still had his reservations, but he decided to give it a try. He placed the ball in front of him, and pulled his foot back slightly. He gave the ball a good kick, and was rather surprised to watch it soar through the air. He barely noticed the impact the ball had on his feet! It was incredible to watch the ball's flight. Theo knew instantly why Dean Thomas was so enthralled by the game of 'football' and knew that it must have been a sight to watch.

He suddenly became aware that all eyes were on him. Dean's mouth was wide open, while Ted's eyes wore a look of shock. Dirk, on the other hand, was displaying both of Dean and Ted's symptoms. Even the two Goblins looked over from their conversation.

"What?" He asked, feeling conscious of the attention he was getting.

"Bloody Hell, mate. If I knew you could kick like that, I would have recruited you to play a game of football ages ago," Dean said first, breaking the silence.

Theo was caught off guard for a moment, but quickly recovered and added a smirk to his face. "Well of course I am; what did you expect?"

Dean, however, knew Theo well enough to know when he was joking and did not remark.

Dirk looked over at them all, "Don't you worry if we will come across Death Eaters or Snatchers if we just sit out here in the open like this?"

Theo shook his head. "It's good to be cautious, but Snatchers aren't exactly quiet. If they were around, we would hear them. And there is no reason for Death Eaters to be out here. Most of them are destroying villages or making an attempt to capture Harry Potter."

"Bah, what good would finding Potter do anyone? It's not like he will save us," Gornuk said angrily as he looked over at where they were sitting.

"You can't be serious," Ted said, with a stunned look on his face.

"He's the Chosen One for a reason. He knows how to bring You-Know-Who down, and will save us all," Dean said.

"Oh really?" Griphook said, joining the conversation. "So where is he? He's gone into hiding, I tell you; too busy trying to save his own hide from You-Know-Who to care about the rest of us."

"That's not true! It's not as if he can be in the open; if he were, then he would be an easier target. The only way he would be able to stay safe long enough to do whatever it was that he had to do, is to disappear from the rest of the world."

"And in the meantime there are stupid children left and right risking their lives to try and show their support. If you ask me it would be better for everyone if someone found a solution which didn't involve waiting for Harry Bloody Potter to save us all," Gornuk said fuming.

"Wait, what do you mean about the children? Has anyone in particular done something to catch the Death Eaters' attention?" Theo asked suddenly. He was worried that Blaise might have publicly rebelled and gotten himself killed. Honestly, that was the last thing he needed to hear at the moment.

"The Weasley girl; her, along with Longbottom and Lovegood were caught a short while before we left, breaking into the Headmaster's office."

"Ginny?" Dean asked in shock. "What happened? Is she alright? How about Neville and Luna? What were they trying to steal?"

"Many questions you ask," Griphook said. "They were caught trying to steal the sword of Godric Gryffindor. Doesn't matter anyway; it was a fake," Griphook said. "Why do you think He was so angry, enough that we'd have to leave?"

Dean digested this for a moment before realizing he still didn't know what happened to his ex-girlfriend. Theo watched as he clenched his fists at his side, with anger towards Snape.

"What was their punishment?"

"They were sentenced to go into the Forbidden Forest with the half-giant," Griphook said.

Theo watched as Dean let out a breath. With Death Eaters crawling over Hogwarts, it was a relief that the worst punishment they received had not been being used as a target for foul spells and hexes, but simply spending time in a forest with someone on their side, and he knew that that was what Dean was happy about.

"Oh, that's good," Dean breathed.

"The Weasleys don't need any more loss in their family," Ted said, with a soft tone to his voice

"We should keep moving," Theo said suddenly. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw the air move slightly. He knew that a disillusion charm had been cast, and the fact that it wavered slightly meant that someone on the other side had nearly penetrated their charm accidently.

"What, why? We've been travelling for so long; can't we just spend the night?" Dean said with a groan.

He knew how the boy felt. If it were up to him they would stay in one place as long as possible; but it wasn't safe; they had to leave.

Ted seemed to sense that something was up and quickly got to his feet. "Theo's right. We should keep moving," his voice said with an edge.

The others seemed to get their meaning, and using their wands the group packed up the few belongings they had.

It was always Theo who apparated them to a new location. He was the best at picking random locations in the middle of nowhere, so the task was left to him. The others grasped on to him, and he closed his eyes to visualize where he wanted to go.

_*pop*_

* * *

Weasley had been in a bad mood all day. They had only been camping out in the forest for a week, yet to Draco it seemed like an eternity. He had no idea what it was that had set off the ginger this time, but one thing was certain; tensions in the camp were running higher than ever.

Weasley had singlehandedly insulted Hermione and her cooking, which was quite good for the circumstances she was reduced to, complained about the current conditions, made attempts to guess whose fault it was that the Death Eaters had shown up, which Draco was the main suspect for, and told Harry off for having more money than his family. Draco wasn't quite sure how the last argument had started, but Ron had managed to piss off everyone one way or another.

Draco was lighting a fire when an alarm had gone off. The sky above him was blinking, and he knew that someone had tripped a safety ward that they had placed around the premise.

Hermione and Harry came running out of the tent, and Weasley put down the fish he had been attempting to eat, while making horrid sounds of disgust every few moments.

"Someone's near," Harry said worriedly. "Could it be the Death Eaters? Are they here?" His voice raised an octave slowly.

Hermione cast a charm quickly and Draco watched as she found which way the intrusion attempt was.

"Whoever is there is in that direction," Hermione said, as she pointed north of their camp.

"We should check it out," Draco said, attempting to keep his voice levelled. He knew it wouldn't serve any point to show his nervousness.

The parameters on where they had set up weren't too large, so whoever it was were really close to where they were.

The four of them walked over in that direction. It was Draco who first noticed the weird object in their vicinity. It was a white spherical object, coloured with back spots.

"Stay away from it," he commanded Harry as he saw the boy approach the object. "We don't know what it is; the Death Eaters may have created some new weapon to lure us out. It could be weakening our defences as we speak. We should leave."

Harry laughed, "Mate, it's a football. I doubt Death Eaters would even know what it was," he said.

Draco was confused. "A what?"

"It doesn't really matter much, other than the fact that it's a muggle object. There's probably a family camping out here somewhere."

That made sense to Draco. The wards they had set up were to keep out other people; it didn't say anything about muggle objects.

Hermione however shook her head, "No, the muggle repellant ward has an even wider range than the others. There's no way any family could be within several kilometres of us. And no one has a range of a kick that far."

"We should go closer," Ron said suddenly. "Stay in the bounds, but try and figure out who is here before we leave."

Harry nodded. "Okay," he said, and Draco knew that it meant that they would have to go near the boundaries. It was risky; if they got too close they might accidently step out, but he knew as long as they stayed inside, they would be safe.

The closer they got the more voices he heard. The first one he recognized was Theo's. His breath caught in his throat. So his friend had gone on the run to avoid being a Death Eater. He felt relief, knowing that he was still alive.

The group was comprised of four people and two goblins. He recognized Thomas, a Gryffindor in his year, and Ted as well. He was shocked to see his uncle on the run; he had been safe a few months ago. Was his family in danger because of him? He knew it couldn't be the case; not since no one knew that he was alive.

"Wait, what do you mean about the children? Has anyone in particular done something to catch the Death Eaters' attention?" Theo said, and Draco immediately tuned in to their conversation

"The Weasley girl. Her, along with Longbottom and Lovegood were caught a short while before we left, breaking into the Headmaster's office."

"Ginny? What happened? Is she alright? How about Neville and Luna? What were they trying to steal?"

Draco saw the blood drain from Harry's face. If something happened to her, he knew that Harry would never be able to live with himself.

"Many questions you ask," a Goblin said. "They were caught trying to steal the sword of Godric Gryffindor. Doesn't matter anyway; it was a fake. Why do you think He was so angry, enough that we'd have to leave?"

"What was their punishment?" Thomas asked worriedly.

"They were sentenced to go into the Forbidden Forest with the half-giant."

He saw Harry let out a breath, knowing his ex-girlfriend hadn't been harmed.

"Oh, that's good," Thomas said, obviously relieve.

"The Weasleys don't need any more loss in their family," Draco's uncle said sadly.

Draco knew it must have been killing his uncle to have to be separated from his family, and he wished he could step out of the bounds to say something.

Draco saw Ron start to trip over a branch as he leaned closer to hear what the group was saying better. He knew that the boy was about to fall out of the safety area as he saw the air start to move. He quickly pulled him backwards, and Ron landed on his butt.

"We should keep moving," Theo said suddenly, and Draco knew he took note of the shift in the air.

"What, why? We've been travelling for so long; can't we just spend the night?" Thomas complained

He knew how the boy felt. If it were up to him they would stay in one place as long as possible; but it

"Theo's right. We should keep moving," his uncle said, sensing something was up.

Draco watched as the others apparated away, clinging on the Theo. At least he knew that his friend and uncle were alright for now.


	36. The Raging Storm

**Chapter 36**

Hermione waited in silence for a few moments after Dean, Ted, and the others with them apparated away. She knew how glad Draco must have been to see his friend alive, after all this time. She had heard that Theo went missing while she was still in Hogwarts, but she had never asked him about it, as she knew it wouldn't be something Draco would want to talk about. She also knew how worried he was that he had joined up with the Death Eaters.

During their time at the Malfoy summer home, Draco had told her once that he, Blaise Zabini, and Theodore Nott had made a pact together never to join up with the Death Eaters, as it was something none of them believed in. She was a bit surprised at this, but she wasn't sure why. She had known for months why Draco hadn't, but something about the other boys shocked her. Sure, they had never called her out on her heritage or done anything to harm her or anyone else she had known at school, but it didn't mean that the two Slytherins cared about those of other blood statuses.

She knew that Harry must also have been relieved at the news of Ginny. She had seen him clench together his fists nervously when the wanderers began the story of how her friend had snuck into Snape's office for the sword, and hadn't seen him release his fists until the mention of how the punishment was merely to go into the forbidden forest.

Hermione's head snapped up, the Goblin had said that the sword that Ginny had tried to steal was a fake! She ran back to the tent, as her head raced. Scrimgeour had said he couldn't give them the sword because it wasn't Dumbledore's to give. But what if he thought of that? What if he had known the Ministry wouldn't give Harry the sword, so he replaced it with a fake? The original had to have been in his possession when he destroyed the ring, so he had to have made the switch sometime in the last several months before his death.

"Hermione, where are you going?" Harry called out after her.

She didn't reply; she couldn't, not yet. She needed to know if what she thought was true.

She found her bag, which in her haste to see who was at the edge of the ward she left behind. She pulled out the portrait of Phineas Nigellus, and immediately called out his name. By this time Draco, Harry, and Ron had joined her, but only Draco seemed to understand what she was trying to do.

"Where am I?" Phineas demanded the minute he was summoned. "Where have you taken me, mudblood? Why am I not in my family home; the Noble house of the Blacks?"

"It was I who suggested we take you, Great-great-great Grandfather," Draco said quickly, as he came to her defense. He must have known that they would never get anywhere if they had to argue with the painting.

"You, Draco?" Nigellus said, shocked. "But you should know better than anyone to do such a heinous thing!"

"I'm sorry sir, but it was because I needed your help. Do you remember when I told you it was dangerous for you to tell anyone I was staying at Grimmauld Place? It is for the same reason that I have been forced to leave. I need you help to tell me what the people who made me leave, are planning. That way we can take back what is rightfully ours, without them even having a clue about what hit them," Draco said softly.

Hermione wasn't sure he would buy it for a moment, and felt her heart race as she waited for the portrait's answer.

"Ah Draco, so you are a true Black and Slytherin. Always so cunning, aren't you? I shall help you as much as I can. Salazar knows what those filthy traitors are doing to my home right now!"

She let out her breath. Of course Phineas decided to help; the Black family house was on the line after all.

"I need to know about the sword of Gryffindor. When was the last time it was taken out of the case?" Draco asked him.

Harry's eyes snapped to hers. She saw the comprehension in his eyes, and knew that he understood what they were trying to do.

"When the Blood Traitor, the Lunatic, and the Oddity tried to take it from the case; of course they were caught. Trying to steal from Hogwarts! The nerve of them!" Phineas said, as he harrumphed in annoyance.

Hermione wanted to snap at him; she could see Harry certainly wanted to smack the portrait. However, they would never learn anything if either of them interfered.

"I see," Draco said calmly. "And before that? When was it taken?"

Phineas looked thoughtful. "I remember the night. Dumbledore had taken it out of its case to crack open a ring. He had truly lost it by the end, if you ask me."

Of course by know they had already figured that much out. "Are you sure he never took it out before that? For cleaning or anything?"

Phineas gave her an annoyed look for cutting in. "Goblin made swords don't need cleaning, you simple mudblood!"

"Don't call her that," Draco and Harry said simultaneously.

Phineas looked wearily at Draco, "You wouldn't be a Blood Traitor, now would you boy?"

Hermione could see him trying to think fast so he could stay on the portrait's good side. "No sir; it's just that for someone of her status, she's rather useful, and if I annoy her too much, then I lose her help. And she's great for tricking those in my home. Also, mudbloods make great bait," Draco said coolly.

Draco made sure to squeeze her hand as he said this, to let her know how much he didn't want to say those words. She squeezed back.

"I should have known," Phineas said with a laugh. "It's exactly like a Malfoy to have a mudblood slave. Why, in my day, Septimus had several of his own! We used to have a good laugh together over the things he would do to them. It's a surprise that our two lines never joined earlier than your parents! I remember this one time-"

Hermione was feeling sick to her stomach as Phineas went on to talk about Septimus, who most likely was some relative of Draco's. Thankfully, Draco cut him off.

"And you're sure Dumbledore never took the sword out between that time?" Draco said. "It's imperative that I know if he did."

Phineas shook his head. "Dumbledore was an odd wizard. I did my best to avoid having to watch his eccentrics. It's entirely possible that he did remove the sword in that time; I just have no recollection of this."

"Have you told Snape about this? About the ring I mean?" Harry demanded.

"I don't see why you possibly would have wanted to bring the Potter brat with you. But no, I did not tell him. I did not want to bother him with yet another weird thing that Crackpot did at Hogwarts. And I still see no point in informing him."

Good. If Snape did not know about the ring, the he would not know that the Horcruxes were being destroyed. Even if the traitor had no idea what the objects were, he would probably see it important to inform Voldemort.

"And where is the sword now?" Draco asked. "I can't imagine that Snape would want to keep the sword in Hogwarts after the attempted robbery.

"No he certainly didn't. He removed it the same day and sent it off to a Gringotts vault for security. However I'm not sure which vault. The one he has possesses very low security, as it was a cheaper vault," Phineas said, without care.

"Thank you for your help, Great Great Great Grandfather," Draco said, as he made a motion to wrap up the conversation. The four of them had quite a bit to talk about after everything."

"Anytime, Draco," Phineas said, before vanishing away.

Hermione took the portrait from Draco and placed it in her bag. She turned to the boys and asked them, "Where do you think the sword is? If we can get it, then we can destroy the locket and then it's three down."

"I don't know," Draco murmured. "It could be anywhere; it might not even be in Gringotts at all. We really have no way of knowing."

Harry nodded. "No, we don't. Dumbledore could have placed it anywhere. That man may be brilliant, but I think he often forgot that the rest of us weren't. But at least we know that it's not at Hogwarts. And that means where ever it is it's probably safe from the Death Eaters."

"We just need to figure out what the other four Horcruxes are. Speaking of which, I have more ideas concerning that. I've thought about all the potential objects He could have used, as well as where he could have kept it. We can discuss it and see how many of the locations or objects make sense."

Hermione smiled. It felt like they were finally getting somewhere. It felt like more pieces of a puzzle were slowly being added to their places. And while they didn't have all the pieces, they now knew what it would look like when it was complete. However, something still felt very, very wrong.

She turned to Ron. "Ron," Hermione asked. "You've been awfully silent lately; are you okay?"

"Oh you finally noticed have you?" Ron sneered. Hermione was taken aback. She had no idea what it was that had caused this sudden onset in his mood.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harry asked him sharply.

"Well you seem to have everything all planed out now, haven't you? Why do you need me to say anything?" he said bitterly.

It started off as a single drop; one drop that landed on her head. It should have been weightless; however it felt like a ton was coming down on her.

"What's the problem Ron," Hermione asked her friend. "What's happened?"

"What do you mean? There's no problem," Ron said sarcastically. "Not according to you lot anyway."

"Meaning?" Harry demanded. "Spit it out, Ron. You obviously have something to say."

There more drops. Just a few that came down, and not enough to be noticeable. She saw the clouds above her shift and knew a storm was coming.

"You act as if we have it all sorted out. But we don't; instead we have to run after yet another object. It isn't enough that we don't know where any of the Horcruxes are, now we need to chase after the stupid sword as well. Just add it to the huge stuff of things you don't know."

Hermione took in an intake of air. What was happening? Why was Ron acting so rashly? There was no reason for him to.

"I don't know?" Harry asked. "_I _don't know?" he repeated.

Plop, plop, plop, plop. The drizzle had turned into a downpour instantaneously. She saw Harry's face twist, and wanted to reach out to him. She didn't like where tis conversation was turning.

"Yeah, Potter. As much as I love running around the country side on some sort of chase after things where we don't even know, it isn't exactly how I thought it would be. These last few weeks we've been starving and freezing, and we're no closer to finishing."

"I thought you knew what you were signing up for," Harry choked out. She knew he was trying really hard to keep his voice as levelled as possible, but it wasn't working.

"So did I. But I guess we were both wrong, now weren't we?" Ron stated coldly.

"Look, Ron. We're all cold and tired. But we need to do this. If we don't then who will?" Draco said, trying to fuse the tension.

"Don't even start with me, Malfoy," Ron snapped at him. Draco was taken aback at his tone. "I don't even know why you're here; you're a bloody Death Eater, for Merlin's Sake! You have no business even being here."

"Ron!" Hermione shouted out. "This isn't you. Stop it this instant!"

"You're no better yourself, Hermione!" he yelled back at her. "Always sleeping with the enemy, aren't you? First it was Krum, now him. Merlin, your taste in men is so bad. I loved you, you know? I loved you so much, and you kept crushing my heart for all these guys who are only going to hurt you in the end. It doesn't even matter now; I don't feel that way anymore. I don't even know what I saw in you! You're nothing but a stupid girl who spreads her legs for every man who looks her way."

Hermione's eyes prickled with tears. She tried to hold them back, but she couldn't. It didn't matter that she once may have cared for him, but he was always after someone else. ARon always said the cruelest things to her when they had a fight, but they had never been anywhere near as vicious as his words had just been.

Draco wrapped his arm around her and brought her in to his chest. He grabbed his wand and pulled it out on Ron. "Apologise. Apologise right now, Weasley. You have no right to say those things to her! Hermione is pure and innocent; how dare you even suggest otherwise."

Ron chose not to respond to this.

"What did you think, Ron? That it would be easy? Did you think we would be finding Horcruxes right and left, and then you could go home before Christmas? I thought you knew how hard it was going to be," Harry said, his voice sounding unnervingly calm.

"I thought you would have known something! I thought Dumbledore would have told you something, anything. But you know absolutely nothing about this. How are we supposed to find anything at this rate?"

"I told you everything Dumbledore's ever told me! What else did you thing; that there was some sort of big secret that I was keeping from all of you?"

"Ron, please," Hermione pleaded softly. She realised something just then, and she wanted to slap herself for not realizing it sooner. Ron was still wearing the Horcrux. "Ron, listen to me. Just take of the Horcrux."

He however chose to ignore her.

"It wouldn't be the first time! You've been so secretive lately; it's hard to know when you tell us everything. We know nothing about the Horcruxes. There's nothing to go on at all. I don't even know why I'm here!"

An earth shattering silence erupted between the four. She wanted to try again, to tell him just to take it off, but something was stopping her.

"So why don't you," Harry said coolly. "Go home then, Ron. Run away; it's what you do best anyways."

"You know what? Maybe I will!" He menaced forward towards Harry. "You heard them talk about Ginny! What if she died? Of course you don't even care about her do you! Only the Forbidden Forest right? Harry _I've-Faced-Worse_ Potter! Honestly, I wonder if you even loved her at all!" Ron shouted out.

Harry looked like he had been slapped. "I just meant – Hagrid was there – there were with others too-"

"Yeah I get it; you don't care about her. Did you even hear Ted? 'The Weasleys don't need any more loss in their family.' But I doubt you care about that."

"Ron," Hermione tried. "He just meant how Bill had been scarred, and George had lost his ear. You're supposed to be dying. Please, just take off the locket. I'm sure that's all they meant-"

He took off the locket and chucked it at her. Thankfully, he missed and it bounced off a tree near her. "Oh you're sure about that aren't you, Hermione? All of your parents are safe, aren't they? So why should stupid old me care about mine?"

"My parents are dead!" Harry roared. "Draco's are currently being held hostage, and Hermione had to obliviate her parent's memories. No one has it better than you, Ron!"

Draco turned to her, stunned. She realised that she had not told him about her parents, but now clearly wasn't the time for that.

"Yeah, well if they're not careful, then they could end up dead. It's not as if I'm needed here anyways."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco asked him. His voice was hostile, and she hadn't heard his voice have that tone since before he had switched sides.

"I mean you lot are bloody tight now, aren't you? You don't need me; it's not as if I'm able to help you out. So it shouldn't really matter if I go or not," Ron said. For a moment, she thought she heard a slight insecurity in his voice, and she tried to reach out to it.

"Ron, that's not true-" She started saying softly.

"Just go, Ron. You're obviously looking for some sort of excuse to run back home to your mummy. I'm sure she can spoon feed you hot meals, and you can cry to her and tell her how bad your life was. She'll comfort you and shelter you like the pathetic little-"

Ron made a gesture to raise his wand at Harry, but Hermione had seen it coming. Before Ron could even cast a spell, she put up a shield.

"_Protego_," she said aloud. Ron's hex bounced right off it.

She could see it in Harry's eyes; he held a fiery hatred of his best mate. Something had changed between the two boys; something that may never be reversible. Something had broken.

"Just go, Ron," Harry repeated once more.

Ron looked at her questioningly, but Draco merely held her tighter in his arms. Ron turned and started storming off. She sobbed, she had to try and stop him, no matter the cost.

She tried to run after him, and call out his name, but she was met with her own shield charm. She cursed herself, as she shouted for him. But Ron was long gone into the night.

Hermione turned to Draco, who pulled her back into his arms. There was thunder off in the distance, but she no longer cared. He brought her into the tent, and the three sat in silence. Hermione kept looking out at the door, waiting for her friend to come back. She hoped that any minute now, he would walk back in and apologise. She wanted everything to be okay again. But he didn't come back; not that night, or next night, or the night after that.


	37. The Comfort of One's Love

**Chapter 37**

It had been exactly two weeks since Ron had left the camp; two weeks since his name had been uttered, and two weeks since he was mentioned. Hermione knew that the entire ordeal had taken a large toll on Harry's mental and physical state, which she could see by the dark circles under his eyes growing with each day.

Even though it was Hermione who stayed by Harry's side, it was still Ron who was his best friend. Maybe it was because of his gender, or because the two boys had more in common; regardless of the reason, it still stood that Ron was the person who Harry was closest to.

A few months ago it would have bothered her; in fact it had, but now she was more worried about her friend than some petty thoughts about why it wasn't her that he was close to. She loved Harry like a brother, and she knew he viewed her in the same light, which is why it killed her to see him like this.

She sat outside on a log in the cool winter weather, as she watched the flurries around her fall to the ground. She had a heating charm set up so she couldn't feel the full extent of the coldness, but she was still able to feel a slight chill. When was it that her life got so complicated? She was barely 18, and while it meant that she had been a legal adult in the wizarding world, she felt like she was anything but. She loved Harry so much, and there was no way in the world that she wouldn't be here with him right now, but she would be lying if she said she wished she didn't have to do this, that he didn't have to do this. They should have been able to grow up without Voldemort's presence looming over them all the time. Harry should have had a childhood with two loving parents, and not the Dursleys. It just wasn't fair.

She squeezed her eyes close as a few rogue tears swept down her face. She wasn't crying because of her life, or what should have been. She was crying because she had no idea what to do, and it terrified her. She was the logical one; she prided herself on always having a well thought plan, but now she didn't even know what general direction she should go in. She brought her knees close to her chest as she wept softly.

"Hermione?" a hesitant voice called out from behind her. She quickly wiped her eyes, hoping to eradicate any trace of her tears.

She felt a pair of arms wrap around her, and she looked up to see Draco, cradling her into his chest. She leaned into him and rested her head onto him. Draco placed a kiss onto her forehead, but didn't say a word.

Neither of them did; they just sat in silence for a while. Draco ran his hand over her back in a comforting manner.

It wasn't just bothering her to see Harry so upset. The departure of Ron also left her devastated. The three of them had always been friends; even when they had fights, they never full out left the other. Ron had always been the rash one, even more so than Harry was.

A person is always the most truthful when they are angry. It was a simple truth that her mother had told her when she was a child. For when someone is angry, they speak everything and anything on their mind, without any sort of barriers preventing them from what they thought. It wasn't the angry ones you had to worry about for keeping things from you; it was the ones who were always calm and rational.

It didn't make the truth any less painful though.

_"Always sleeping with the enemy, aren't you?"_

_"I loved you, you know? I loved you so much, and you kept crushing my heart for all these guys who are only going to hurt you in the end."_

_"You're nothing but a stupid girl who spreads her legs for every man who looks her way."_

It wasn't fair. Ron always believed the things he wanted to, and wouldn't listen to reason. She loved Draco, more than anything in the world, but there was a time where she had feelings for Ron as well. They had been nowhere near as strong, but they were still there. And while it took him four years to even notice she was a girl, she had been pining after him since second year. And even when he finally realized he had feelings for her, he couldn't up and tell her, he had to ruin the night which was one of the greatest in her life, all because of his jealousy. And then he spent all of sixth year chasing after Lavender Brown, simply because he was a hormonal teenager. But Hermione just dealt with her pain; she never tried to sabotage their relationship.

It wasn't that she had anything against pre-marital sex; it was just that she wasn't ready. She wanted to wait until she was absolutely sure, and Draco knew and understood that. But Ron painted her out to be some sort of slut who slept her way through Hogwarts. Merlin, the most she and Victor did was kiss chastely. The older boy may or may not have wanted more, but if he did, he never showed any signs of that. She hadn't exactly had that many boyfriends either.

Did it even bother to say those words? Did he even think about what the words meant and how they would affect her? For someone who claimed to have loved her, he obviously had no regard for her feelings.

"Hermione, you know what Weasley said wasn't true right?" Draco said, breaking her thoughts. He always had a way of knowing just what was bothering her.

She sighed softly and met his eyes, "I know. It just hurts to think he would even have those sorts of thoughts. I know his family is in danger; every day I worry that I'll find out someone I care about has been killed. If anything ever happened to Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, or anyone in that family, I don't know what I'll do. I thought he knew that. We all care for them; the Weasleys are like a second family to me."

He cupped her face gently, "I know, they're all really wonderful. They're so different from the family I grew up around, but there's far more love to go around." He paused before continuing. "That wasn't the only part I was talking about, Hermione," he said, as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "He may have been angry, but he had no right to comment on your virtue."

She remained quiet, not trusting herself to speak. Hermione simply looked at the ground.

"Hermione, look at me," he said ever so gently. The hand that was still on her face brought it up toward him, so he could see her. "Nothing he said was true."

She nodded, "I know, I just never expected him to release all that anger onto me. I knew he had feelings for me in the past, but I thought he had let them go graciously. Now I'm not so sure."

"He was just angry, Hermione. Wealsey's not the greatest actor, so if he had feelings for you still, then they would have been prominent."

Draco didn't speak after that. Her head resumed its previous position against his chest. He gave her room to think, while he stayed by her side. That's one of the things she loved so much about him; he knew exactly what she needed without her saying it.

"Hermione," he asked her hesitantly after several minutes had passed.

"Hmm?" She asked, muffled by his chest.

"What happened, with your parents?" he asked her carefully. "What did Harry mean, when he said you erased their memories?"

She sat up straight before replying. She stared at her hands before looking back at him. "I don't know how much of the Daily Prophet you saw when you were staying with your Aunt and Uncle, Draco, but it was getting really bad. Muggles were being killed right and left just because they exist; they still are. The Death Eaters know that I care for Harry, and that it would devastate him if anything happened to me. Who do you think they would have gone after first? They would have tried to kill me and my family if we stayed at that house. The Death Eaters probably figured I didn't go back to Hogwarts because of my Blood Status, and they know Harry is on the Run. They would have tried to draw him out. And honestly, if I wasn't helping Harry, I would have been at home. But I can't be there, because my place is here, and that would leave them alone, defenseless."

"So you erased their memories of you?" Draco asked her in a soft tone.

"They think they're Monica and Wendell Wilkins, and that their life ambition is to move to Australia. They're probably there now, living safely with their new identities, with no idea that I even exist," she said, as her eyes welled up again.

"Did they know before you erased their memories that you were going to?"

She nodded. "I debated against telling them. I was even going to at first. But then I realised that I couldn't do it without telling them. It's good that they agreed to, otherwise I would have had to do it without their consent."

She didn't say anything for a few moments. Instead, she simply watched the bare branches of the trees blow with the wind. There was a light frost along the ground, and she knew that winter was coming. Before long snow would cloak the ground, and she would be forced to add even more heating enchantments to keep them warm. Hopefully it would be enough.

Most of the animals had already begun their hibernation, so the woods were quiet. It made it lonely at times, even though she still had Harry and Draco. However, Harry was constantly preoccupied with other matters. She didn't blame him however; he literally had to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, and it wasn't an easy task to go about.

Draco squeezed her hand, and she smiled sadly at him.

"I think the worst part is that I have no idea where they are. I know they were supposed to go to Australia, but it's not exactly a small country. On top of that, what if I can't undo the charm? They may never remember me."

"Hermione," he said gently. "I can't promise that it will be easy, but I can promise that you won't have to do it alone. I'll help you find them, and I'll help you remove the charm. This war will result in many losses, but your parents will not be one of them."

She wrapped her arms around her neck, catching him off guard. He stumbled backwards, and fell onto the ground, and she landed on top of him. However, he simply smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She laughed, "Sorry, I didn't mean for that to happen."

He pulled her in for a kiss. "Doesn't matter. I rather enjoy this," he said, placing his lips upon hers.

"Hermione, Draco, are you out here?" Harry called out from inside the tent. Her friend came out, and saw the two of them in their current arrangement. He smirked at them, "Am I interrupting something?" he asked, amused.

Draco shook his head, as he got up. He helped Hermione up from the ground before letting out a laugh. "Nope, just Miss Clumsy here, knocking me down."

She glared at him, as she hit him playfully, "You're the one who fell over and brought me down with you, Malfoy!"

Draco held his hand to his chest, "Oh how you wound me woman!"

Harry held in a laugh, "I see you two are getting along splendidly."

Hermione smiled. "Was there something you wanted to say, Harry? It seemed like you came out here for a reason."

He nodded. "I want to go to Godric's Hallow. I've been thinking about it for a while."

She agreed with him. Hermione had been wondering about it for some time; ever since she found out that the sword had been removed, she had been thinking of places where Dumbledore could have left it. Godric's Hallow came to her mind a few days ago, but she hadn't said anything yet. She wanted to have been surer about it first, but seeing as Harry brought it up, he must have drawn a similar connection as her.

"I agree, we should go," she said.

Harry and Draco looked at her in surprise. Apparently neither one had been expecting her to say yes.

"Er, Hermione, did you hear me properly?" Harry asked slowly, as if he did not believe her answer.

She was tempted to roll her eyes, but refrained from doing so. "Yes, of course I did. You want to go to Godric's Hallow right? I agree that we should. Dumbledore probably left the sword there."

Harry looked baffled. "The sword?"

Maybe he hadn't made the same connections that she had.

"Yes, Gryffindor's sword, Harry," she stated calmly.

Draco's eyes seemed to draw comprehension, however Harry's did not.

"Why would it be there, out of all places?"

"Godric's Hallow is where Gryffindor lived. Honestly Harry, have you never read _A History of Magic_? Godric Gryffindor also owned the sword, so I assumed it would be a logical place for the sword to have been hidden."

He finally got it. She didn't bother asking him why he wanted to go there if not for the sword. Hermione figured that it was probably because of his parents, and wanting to see their place of death. She reached for his hand. He had suffered so much because of this war, and he didn't deserve it. Harry deserved to have two parents, and maybe even siblings, living with him. He deserved happiness, not the job of bringing down the darkest wizard in history, while he was barely on the edge of adulthood.

"So when do we leave?" Draco asked her. While Harry may have been in charge, she was the one who made sure every plan had been well thought out before it was put into action.

Harry looked up at her eagerly, and she nearly felt her heart break.

"Soon. We can't go right away; there may be Death Eaters waiting for us. We have gather supplies so we can disguise ourselves well enough first."

Harry nodded, "Soon then."

* * *

It was a disaster, to say in the least. Hermione sat in the tent staring worriedly at Harry's unconscious body. Draco had gone outside to cast up all the protection wards while she sat inside with her friend to make sure he didn't get any worse.

She wasn't sure when the trip to Godric's Hallow went so wrong. At first it seem nice, nostalgic even. The streets were quiet, as it was around Christmas, and everyone was at home with their families. The three of them left the words unspoken of how it was a far different Christmas than what any of them had previously experienced.

It was still alright when they went to the grave yard. She had been a bit stunned to see that there were grave stones marked with the Deathly Hallows on them, mainly for Peverell Family. Hermione assumed that it must have meant that they were possibly once owners of the Deathly Hallows, however it still seemed unlikely to her that the Hallows even existed. But since the symbol kept popping up, she knew that it would have to be explored some time or the other.

After going to the Potter house, they had seen a lady and Harry insisted that it was Bathilda Bagshot. Hermione and Draco weren't too sure about this, but had followed her anyways. That was where they made their first mistake. The second was allowing for Harry to go alone with the _woman_ that they barely knew. It was only thanks to Draco's paranoid self that the two of them had gone after Harry.

They had made it to the top of the stairs just in time to see Bathilda transform into a snake. The next part happened so quickly, and was filled with cursing and hexing. Harry had slipped into his unconscious state shortly after the snake, Nagini had contacted Voldemort.

Harry currently was tossing and turning in front of her. He was muttering things, words and sentences that she couldn't make out, and it terrified her. The locket was stuck to his chest, and it seemed like nothing would get it off of him. She wanted to try and hex it off, but it wouldn't be safe. It worried her, to leave it on him. She had no idea what the repercussions of having a Horcrux on for so long could be.

Hermione knew she would have to tell Harry about his wand as well. She was worried about how he would take the news. It hadn't been her fault per say; her spell had bounced off a wall and Harry's wand had split in two.

"Has there been any change?" Draco asked her softly as he came back into the tent. He had helped her apparate Harry out while she cast a hex to distract the snake. She had no idea what she would have done without his help. Draco even carried him inside the tent and placed him on the bed.

She shook her head. "He's still out," she whispered. Draco came and sat beside her, and wrapped his arms around her body.

"He'll be okay, Hermione," Draco said, as the two of them stared at Harry.

"You don't know that," she said, scared of what could happen.

"I do," he said in a voice that was so sure. She looked up at him, and saw no hesitancy on his face. "Harry always survives, despite everything that life has thrown his way. He'll survive this too."

The two of them took turns that night, watching over Harry, but he never left his unconscious state. Hermione remembered praying that Harry would be alright, before sleep finally claimed her.


	38. The Latest Capture

**Chapter 38**

Blaise flooed to McGonagall's office at Hogwarts, where like usual, he flooed to several locations first before to the office. It would raise questions if any Death Eater found out he was going to Hogwarts, so he had to take a roundabout method of getting there. However he knew he didn't have a lot of time, and if his visit took too long, then Voldemort would get suspicious.

He remembered the first time he had stepped foot into her study, she had immediately flown out of her chair, and raised her wand at him. Not that he blamed her; with everything that had happened lately, everyone was on the edge. And it didn't help his case that he had gotten past the safety measures his old professor had placed on the fireplace.

_"Mr Zabini, what are you doing here? More importantly, how did you get in?" the elderly witch asked him, as she slightly lowered her wand._

_"I need your help, Professor," Blaise said calmly. "The Dark Lord has recently requested I join his force, however I declined. But he found a way to persuade me."_

_"And what, pray-tell, did he do?" McGonagall asked him cautiously._

_"I'm not like Theo. He hates his family, and he has nothing to lose, so Theo ran. But I have everything at stake. He threatened the life of my mother, a woman I love very dearly. So you can see why I had no other choice than to take his mark," Blaise said, his voice trembling slightly. He raised his arm, and lifted up the sleeve to reveal his dark skin, tattooed freshly with the Dark Mark. _

_"You're just a boy. You're all just children fighting in this war," McGonagall said softly, her voice resonating with pain. _

_"I don't want to do this. I don't support him or his beliefs. I don't want to kill anybody."_

_She straightened up quickly. "And what can I do for you about this, Mr. Zabini?"_

_"I do not wish to help him. So I am coming to you, to ask if I could pass you information. I know how risky it must sound, and that you have no reason whatsoever to believe me, but I still have to try," Blaise said._

_McGonagall looked slightly unsure, but maintained her cool fixture. "You'll have to understand why I cannot welcome you in straight away, these days it just isn't safe. But with that said, I am willing to meet with you every time you have any information which you feel could help our side. In return, if we win this war, I can grant you immunity. However, I cannot guarantee your safety in this task. The life of a spy is never safe," she informed him._

_Blaise smiled, "Of course, Professor."_

Blaise stepped into the office which he had been in no less than twelve times since he started passing information to the Order.

"Blaise, what a surprise. I wasn't expecting you to come by until next week," McGonagall said, as she looked up from her desk. His visit had not been planned, but he knew that he had to deliver the news, despite the fact that there would be nothing the Order could do.

"Nor was I expecting to be here, but I have news from Malfoy Manor," Blaise said, hurriedly. "There was a capture late last night, three deaths, and four captured."

McGongall quickly hid her shock. In the current dark times death and captures were daily news, but that didn't stop the surprised reactions. "Who was it? Anyone I know?"

"A goblin was murdered, along with Dirk Cresswell, and one more, Ted Tonks," Blaise said solemnly. "I know Tonks' relationship to the Order so I saw fit to inform you firsthand about the attack. Someone in the group must have broken the Taboo on You-Know-Who's name."

Immediate sadness washed upon McGonagall's face. "I see. Thank you for telling me, Blaise. I will inform Andromeda and Nymphadora immediately. To think, young Tonks is so close to her due date too."

She rose from her chair and made her way over to the fireplace where Blaise was standing beside. She hesitated before grabbing a handful of floo powder. "You said that there were captures, Blaise. Who are they?"

"Dean Thomas, another Goblin, Griphook I think," Blaise paused before saying the last name, "And Theodore Nott."

Blaise had been in the manor when the prisoners were brought in. it was nothing new, most captured people came to the Malfoy Manor before they were sent off to the dungeons of the house. However, he was not expecting to see his friend among those who had been caught. It would not be good for Theo; Voldemort had been itching to find out what happened to him after he ran away, and he knew the boy would be punished severely for disobeying an order.

"I really wish there was some way we could get them out, but it would be suicide to run straight into You-Know-Who's operation base," his former professor said with a sigh.

Blaise nodded, "I will see if there is an opportunity to get them out, however if not, there is nothing that I can do."

"I understand," she said softly. This was war, and there would be loses on both sides; however that didn't make the death of anyone they knew any less painful.

Blaise grabbed a handful of the floo powder as well. "I should be going. It will look suspicious if I am gone for too long.

"Of course," McGonagall said. "Thank you for bringing the news, no matter how devastating it may be."

Blaise nodded once more, as he stepped into the fireplace and dropped the floo powder in.

* * *

It had been nearly three weeks since the incident at Godric's Hallow. Harry was out of it for two days before finally waking up, and Hermione had been stressing out the entire time, and she was so thankful that Draco had been there by her side. It was at his insistence that she used a spell to get the Horcrux off of him; she was still afraid of hurting him, but Draco had pointed out that it would probably be safer than the alternative of leaving it on him. She had been so relieved when Harry woke up; he spent the entire time mumbling when he was unconscious, and she wanted nothing more than to get him out of his state.

When she had told him about his wand, Harry had been more than upset. She wasn't sure how to tell him about it, but she had eventually done so. He tried not to show his mood about his wand, but she had known him well enough to know how he really felt.

The three of them were currently sitting in their tent. They still had no idea where the Hufflepuff cup was, or if it was a Horcrux. Nor did they know what any of the other three items were.

"So it is certain that he's turning all of the Founder's items?" Draco asked the two. "Why didn't he turn anything of Gryffindor's then?"

Hermione looked up from her book of magical artefacts, "I think he wanted to turn the sword, but for one, it was under constant surveillance, and secondly, the sword probably would have rejected his soul fragment if he tried."

"And we still don't know about Ravenclaw's object, or if he even turned it into one," Harry said tiredly.

"I think I know what it would be," Draco spoke up. He waited for both of their attention before proceeding. "Ravenclaw prided herself on her wisdom, which is why she created a diadem; a tiara if you will. Her diadem was said to give the wearer instant wisdom."

"That's great!" Hermione said excitedly. "Now all we need to do is find her diadem and then there's another Horcrux in our possession."

"It's not that easy," Draco said as he ran fingers through his hair. "The diadem has been named the 'Lost Diadem' because it's exactly that; lost. Apparently Rowena Ravenclaw had a daughter, Helena, who was not as intelligent as her. Her daughter was tired of always being overlooked and she stole the diadem and ran off with it. Her mother being distraught sent a baron who was intended to marry her, to bring her back, however when Helena refused, the Baron was so angry, he killed her. Once he realized what he had done, the Baron killed himself."

Hermione covered her mouth in horror, "That's awful! How do you even know such a story?" She asked him.

"The Baron who killed Helena Ravenclaw became a ghost, and he's my house's ghost, just as yours is Nearly Headless Nick. He's never outright said it around me, but it's a rumour that goes around the dungeons. Every Slytherin has heard of it."

"Which is probably how Tom heard it when he was at school," Harry murmured.

Draco nodded, "That's what I figured."

"So how are we supposed to find it?" Hermione asked. "What if he couldn't even find it, because it was_ lost_? Just because he could have heard the story of the diadem, doesn't mean that he was able to locate it.

Draco sighed, "You're right, of course you are. It seems like every time we come close to getting a lead, we lose it."

"Do you think that an animal could be a Horcrux?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Why? Do you think Nagini is one?" Hermione asked curiously.

"It would make sense. How else could she summon him while we were at Godric's Hallow?" Draco said as he raised an eyebrow.

"Well I guess the snake will have to be one of the last we go after; he will be notified straight away if we kill his pet snake," Harry smirked.

"And in the mean time we can just lounge around trying to find all these Horcruxes for which we have no idea where they are," Hermione sighed.

"Maybe we should look into the Deathly Hallows some more," Harry suggested carefully.

"Harry…" Hermione started. It had been the same argument for the last week. Harry wanted to believe that the Horcruxes meant something important to what they were doing, but she just couldn't see it.

"No, Hermione, listen to me. Dumbledore left you that book for a reason; he clearly drew in that symbol so you would inquire about it. He wouldn't have done it if there was no meaning behind it. And think about back at the graveyard, the Peverell family had three tombs of brothers, and each gravestone the symbol of the Deathly Hallows. What if they were the three brothers from the story?"

"It could have just been a symbol. Grindelwald used it as a sign of his own. It could still mean something else. It could even be a rune which the Hallows adapted for their story," Hermione tried.

"Then explain my cloak. Why else would Dumbledore have taken it out of my father's possession before he died? Dumbledore must have known something."

"He has a point, Hermione," Draco started slowly.

"Not you too," Hermione said with a groan. The last thing she needed was for Draco to give him ideas.

"Invisibility cloaks have an average lifespan of ten years, maybe fifteen maximum. But Harry has had the cloak for at least seven, and his father had it before that. That's at least over twenty years that the cloak has existed, maybe even longer than that, but it still works perfectly fine," Draco explained to her.

"It all fits perfectly, don't you see?" Harry said excitedly. At that moment he looked like a little kid who was happy about solving their first mystery, no matter how wrong he was.

"No Harry, it doesn't! You're trying to make it all fit," she tried reasoning.

"I'm not, because it does fit together, Hermione!" Harry cried. "You just don't want to see it, for some reason."

"For Merlin's sake Harry; the Deathly Hallows are just a myth!" Hermione exclaimed exasperatedly. "They don't really exist."

"That's what everyone said about the Chamber of Secrets, but it existed, didn't it? So why can't the Deathly Hallows?"

"Because they can't," Hermione insisted. She paused for a moment before continuing. "Say they do exist, then what? Harry, our mission is to destroy the Horcruxes, nothing else. We can't allow ourselves to get deterred because of some possibility of an item possibly exist."

Harry's shoulders slumped and even Draco looked a bit depressed by her reminder. She hated to be the bringer of bad news, but someone needed to remind them about it.

"You're right. But we shouldn't disregard them all together. I think they still play a role in this, no matter how small," Harry said after a moment's time.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked. There was another possibility concerning why Harry would be so insistent about finding the Hallows. "Does You-Know-Who want them?"

"Not all of them. In fact, I doubt he even knows what they are. But I get occasional flashes from time to time, and I think he wants the Elder Wand," Harry explained.

"Aren't you blocking him off?" Hermione asked sharply. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I wanted to tell you, but I know that Dumbledore wanted me to try and fight it. But I don't want to; he spends most of the time blocking me out, except for when he lowers his guard. And those times can be extremely beneficial for me, as I can see what is happening during times of excess emotion."

Draco groaned. "As if he isn't powerful enough, now he wants a wand that will make him unbeatable," Draco said, turning the conversation back in the way of the Elder Wand.

"Not if he can't find the wand," Hermione reminded them. "No one has seen the wand in centuries, so I doubt You-Know-Who will have much luck either. Did he say why specifically he wants the wand?"

Harry shrugged, "Probably so he can counteract the twin core problem which arises every time we fight. But I wouldn't discount him finding it just yet, Hermione," Harry warned. "He's already gone after Gregorovitch, and he definitely own the wand at one point in the last century. Where ever he is in terms of tracking the wand, he's getting really close to finding it."

Hermione frowned. "That doesn't sound good. But even so, we cannot go one this wild goose chase just to simply get ahead of him."

Draco nodded, "I agree with you there, Hermione," he said. "It's risky, more so than this entire mission. But Harry, tell us if you get any more flashes so we can at least know where he is on finding the wand."

"Okay," Harry said. "Okay."

* * *

Theo sat on the cold stone dungeon floor. As a kid he had been to the Malfoy Manor many times to visit Draco, with Blaise. The three of them would often play on the ground, with games such as 'Death Eaters and Mudbloods' where one of them would be the muggleborn who would be chased by the other two. He remembered how he hated being the muggleborns, but the three took turns.

They very rarely ever went down to the dungeons however. There was something about the entire basement area which freaked the three of them out as children, and with good reason. The air was damp and lit with few torches. But other than that, it was hard to see. He was chained to the wall, with Thomas on the other side of him, and Griphook adjacent to him.

He couldn't Ted Tonks was dead. In the few short months that he had known the man, he had become a father type figure in his life. His own father was too busy licking Voldemort's feet to care for him. It was Dirk Cresswell who had said Voldemort's name, and thus broke the taboo. The man had paid dearly for it too, with his life. He knew that Dean was upset by the deaths as well, but since their capture, neither boy said a word to the other. It wasn't out of anger or resentment, but simply because they did not know if they were being watched. It wasn't as if they had any privileged information, but more of the fact that they'd rather not take the chance.

All of a sudden he saw a bright light coming towards them; most likely a wizard using _Lumos_ to allow them to see better.

"Nott, get up," a gruff voice called out, and Theo felt the shackles around his wrists loosen. Theo had no idea who was there, but he knew it was a Death Eater.

He stood shakily as he followed the Death Eater, who he now recognized as Lucius Malfoy, up the stairs of the cellar to a drawing room. The room had often been closed to him as a child, as it was left for Lucius' personal business. The room was filled with several Death Eaters who he knew made up Voldemort's inner circle.

"Nice of you to join us, Mr Nott," a voice hissed. Theo looked up to see Voldemort standing across the room from him, where Theo was quickly being guided.

"Did you think that running away would protect you? Did you think that one could simply decline my offer, without any punishment? I've been lenient, I've even bargained with those who have had doubts; just ask your friend, Mr. Zabini."

At that, Theo looked up to see Blaise standing to the side of the room. He held a masked expression, but Theo knew him well enough to know he didn't wish to be there. Voldemort probably held something against him, which would cause him to join. He did not feel anger towards his friend, only pity.

"However, I will not give you another chance, Mr. Nott. I shall make an example of you, for anyone in the future who tries to defy my wishes. You shall show the world what happens when people cross Lord Voldemort and decline his offer."

Theo knew what was coming before a spell was even cast. He knew it wouldn't be death; that would be too easy. So he braced himself for the next worst thing.

"_Crucio_," Voldemort hissed.

The screams that Theo cried in pain echoed against the walls of the Manor, and no one, not even Blaise, could help him.


	39. The Hogwarts Express

**A/N:** Hi guys! I'm really sorry about how late this chapter is. I wanted to put one up this weekend, but I had several final exams this week, and I just finished them today. But I'm finally finished high school! It feels really weird saying that… Anyways, here's the chapter J

* * *

**Chapter 39**

Luna sat across from her friends Neville and Ginny on the ride back to Hogwarts. It had been a quiet holiday for herself and her father as after the death of her mother; her father seemed to have lost most of his spark. He kept his eccentric behaviour, which made it easy for Luna to relate to him. However, quiet holidays were in no way boring.

She had spent the holidays with her father conducting research on a rare species, the Keftlers. From what she had found, they tended to live in warmer, sunny climates, which meant that they would definitely not be tolerant of the cool, rainy English weather. She and her father were planning on voyaging over to Australia during the summer, however based on how the war faired by then, there was a good chance the trip would be cancelled. She was loyal to her friends, and while she may not be of age, she still wanted to do everything in her power to help them out during the fight.

Ginny and Neville were currently chatting animatedly, about their separate holidays. Neville was in the midst of telling them both about his grandmother's reaction to stealing the sword.

"I've never seen her so charged about something, and knowing my grandmother, that's a first," Neville said, shaking his head. "She was so proud of what we tried to do, and kept telling everyone about how her grandson has backbone for stealing from that _'lying, traitorous filth of a bastard, masquerading as headmaster.'_"

"Well she has a point in calling him that!" Ginny said with a laugh. "It must feel good to have her praise you so much, over the last few years."

Luna bit her lip. While Neville hadn't had a bad childhood, she knew how hard it must have been. When she had first met him she had been shocked by how unconfident he was in himself, and it hadn't helped that his grandmother kept comparing him to the parents he would never get to know. Neville was brilliant, and she was proud of everything he had accomplished, but most importantly, that he was starting to recognize it for himself.

Neville had a shy smile on his face, "I'm glad to know that I'm finally making her proud, you know?"

Luna reached out and grabbed his hand. "As long as you're happy, Neville, that's all that really matters."

"I am," he said softly, as he squeezed her hand gently.

She loved Neville. He and Ginny were both the siblings she had never had. They had been there for her throughout all the times she was picked on for her beliefs, and Ginny had personally cursed anyone who mocked her. They might not be the Golden Trio, as Harry, Ron, and Hermione were, but she still found them to be tighter than anything she could have ever dreamed of having; a Silver Trio, if you will.

"The Burrow was so quiet this year," Ginny said softly. "With Ron gone off with Harry, and Bill choosing to stay with his family this year, it just isn't the same."

Luna couldn't say she could relate. She knew what small felt like, but not like Ginny. The Weasley family was so warm and loving, that even the loss of two souls would take away from the spirit.

Luna was about to say something, when she felt the train come to a sudden halt. The momentum threw her out of her chair and straight into Neville.

"OW!" she exclaimed, as she felt her heart race from being jerked. She lifted herself from Neville, and straightened her clothes. Luna looked out the window to try and place the reason for their stop, but couldn't see anything. They were nowhere near Hogwarts, and still had another hours drive.

"What's happened?" Neville asked worriedly. In the current times, anything out of the normal was usually not a good sign.

Ginny peered out of their compartment, and saw that several other students were doing the same thing. The train was nowhere near as packed as it had been during her previous five years, but with everything going on, she couldn't say she was surprised.

The lights began to flicker in the train. On and off, on and off, on and off. Then, without any warning, the lights went off completely.

"What's happening?"

"Where are the lights?"

"I can't see anything!"

Luna heard voices screaming out from around the train. She didn't know what was happening, but it was not good, not good at all.

"_Lumos_," she said in a soft voice, and her wand's light filled the compartment with a dim light. She saw Neville and Ginny do the same, and eventually the younger years caught on. Those who didn't know the spell stayed near to those who did, and the elder students held those younger than them, close by.

The train shook suddenly, and Luna very nearly lost her balance. She heard shouts from outside the train, and began to panic. There were cries of terror and shrieks of pain and Luna couldn't see where the attackers were, as the sound seemed to resonate around the train.

"Luna," Ginny said quickly. "They're coming! We should split up, the three of us, and take different ends of the train. Neville, you go to the front. I'll go the rear, and Luna, you stay here. That way, we have all ends covered, and should be able to fight them off. Whoever sees them, give a shout and the other two will run to their aid."

The two of them nodded. This is what they were waiting for. It was what she had trained for in her fourth year; a chance to fight. She was scared, to say in the least. But she was also brave. There were younger year students in danger from this sudden attack, and as upperclassmen, it was their job to try and protect them

She exited her compartment, and watched as Neville and Ginny ran off in opposite directions, their wands out and ready to strike. She felt her heart race and the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She would be ready for them.

"Where is she?" A gruff voice called out from the end of the nearest compartment. They must have entered from an area closer to her, and thus avoided both Neville and Ginny.

The student currently being thrashed against the wall, a first year, shook with fear, as they attempted to answer. "I-I-I don't know who you're talking about," the boy stuttered.

The Death Eater tossed the boy roughly against the wall and moved on to the next kid. "You, Boy! Where is Lovegood?"

"I haven't seen her!" The girl cried out. She was lying of course. The girl, also in her year, had made a point of coming into her compartment earlier and picking on Luna earlier for her weird behaviour. It was nice to know that even though she wasn't liked by her classmates, she was still valued enough not to be thrown to the dogs.

"You're lying!" the Death Eater hissed. "You see, Girl, I know when people lie to me, and I don't tend to like it very much. But I make them pay, very dearly. So you might want to rethink your answer."

The girl stammered nervously, and Luna knew it was her turn to protect the girl.

"Leave her alone," she said loudly and calmly. This got the Death Eater's attention right away.

"Oh yeah? And who's gonna make me?" He said, as he walked over to her haughtily.

"I am," she said simply.

The Death Eater was mere steps away from her. Luna raised her wand slightly, but the Death Eater simply pushed her arm away. He grabbed the bottom of her face and pushed her roughly.

"And who might you be?" he said, and she could smell his putrid breath on her face. She was tempted to turn her face away from him, but did not. She would not be giving him the upper hand.

"Luna Lovegood," she said. She heard the others in the compartment whisper, and the girl who had attempted to protect her, bowed her head down. From the corner of her eye, she could see a young boy slip out of the cabin, and she hopped the boy would get other students to protect everyone. While the Slytherins would be no help, the others had not entirely given in to the 'new' Hogwarts regime.

"Are you, now? Well, Love, you're just the girl I'm looking for," he said with a smirk. "I'm afraid you're going to be coming with me."

"No," she said quietly.

"What did you just say?" he growled.

"I won't be going anywhere with you today," she said slowly.

He grinned widely, and she saw his decrepit teeth. "Oh, Love, I think you will be coming with me. You see, if you don't come willingly, I will murder each and every person on this train, and then I will take you. So we can do this one way, or the other. But either way, you will be coming with me."

She hesitated. She could not in good conscious be responsible for the death of so many innocents. Her life on the line was one thing; if she had to die, she would go down fighting. But she could not risk so many others. Luna knew that she could call his bluff, and hope he didn't kill anyone, but it was far too dangerous. She weighed both her options, but she already knew in her heart what she had to do.

"Fine, but if any innocent people are harmed, don't think I will hesitate in fighting you," she said seriously. "So much as a broken finger and you will regret it."

She knew he wouldn't take her threat as one that should worry him, but he could tell from the flame in her eyes that she was serious.

"I knew you would see it my way. That's the thing about your side; you're a bloody noble lot. See, we wouldn't care about anyone else, we would take was we want and not worry about the others. But you lot, you risk your skins for others. That's what's going to make you lose this war," the Death Eater said smugly.

"No," she said firmly. "Our compassion is what's going to win this war."

He saw how her words seemed to impact the others in the cabin, and knew instantly how her words of courage would spread. She would be gossiped about in whispers in dinner, and even if no one did anything to fight, her words would at the least inspire them.

He scowled at her, and drew out his wand quickly. Before she could react, he had already cast a stunning spell on her. She heard Ginny shouting her name in the distance, but she was already surrounded by darkness.

* * *

Ginny stared in shock at the train. Members of the order had immediately come to their aid once they had heard about the attack on the Hogwarts Express, but it was far too late; Luna had already been taken.

She had a light blanket wrapped around her shoulders and was currently sipping a cup of water, but it didn't make her feel any better. It was her stupid idea that the three of them split up; it was her fault that Luna was left all alone with no one to help her.

As soon as she had reached the end of the train, she knew something was wrong, and started running back. She could feel the dread in every cell of her body. And then a boy had rushed into the compartment she was making her way down, yelling how the Death Eaters were after Luna Lovegood, and she was terrified. Ginny was scared for her friend, and what would happen if she didn't reach there in time.

Why her? Why would they want to take Luna Lovegood? She's harmless and hardly a danger to Voldemort. She isn't even Harry Potter, who poses a threat. Ginny wondered briefly if it could have been as a result of their late night activities; all the graffiti definitely would piss off Snape, but would it be enough to attack a few students?

Ginny felt herself tremor in anger. If only she had been better, or stronger. She didn't even know what they were doing to Luna right now, and it frustrated her beyond measure.

"The train has to continue now," Her mother said, coming up behind her. "I don't know how much Snape will like it if we held up the train, so it's best to let them go on their way."

Ginny nodded, knowing that her mother was right. The Carrows would probably personally punish anybody who attempted to help in any way or form. She shuddered, thinking about the poor children who would have to suffer at the Death Eaters' hands.

"I should go then," she said standing up. She took the blanket off her shoulders and handed it to her mother.

"No, you won't be going back, Ginvera," her mother said firmly.

She stared at her mother. "What do you mean? I have to go back! I have to finish studying, even if it is under really poor circumstances."

"No. Not after this. Not after they snatched a student, especially someone so close to us, in broad daylight. I know I preached the importance of education to Ron, but I refuse to allow you to endanger yourself. I'd rather you stay at home, where I can keep you safe. And if it means I have to teach you myself, then I will gladly do that, but I cannot let you go back there, Ginny."

She opened her mouth to argue. She wasn't a child anymore, yet just because she was the youngest of her siblings, she was treated like a kid. Ron was barely on the edge of adulthood, and she was months away from seventeen herself.

"Please, Ginny," her mother begged her softly. "I can't lose you too. Ron is already gone somewhere, and I need to be able to keep you safe. Even if it's just for a few months, I need to know that you're safe. After everything that's happened, I don't want to lose my family."

She could tell her mother was trying hard not to cry, so Ginny wrapped her arms around her mother, and brought her into a hug.

"Okay, Mum. I'll come home with you, but under a few conditions. Once I turn seventeen, if the war is still going on, I want to be allowed to fight. And once this is all over, I will do what I want, within reason of course, but I want to be able to be an adult, and grow up. I want to return to Hogwarts with my friends, and finish my education, and I don't want to be forced into a life of being a housewife. While the lifestyle suits you, I cannot have that sort of a life."

Mrs. Weasley simply nodded. "I understand. I knew that since you were a little girl. You always preferred playing Quidditch with your brothers, than playing with dolls. And if that's the sort of life you want, I will gladly support you. And I cannot stop you from fighting once you turn seventeen. I wish I could shield you from all the dangers in the world, but I have long learned to pick which battles I want to fight, and this isn't one of them.

Ginny smiled. It felt like after an eternity, she and her mother had finally reached an understanding. She would go home with her mother, but she would also keep track of what was happening in the Wizarding World. She refused to be cut off from everyone, and it wasn't like the Daily Prophet was actually reporting news anymore. No, they needed something reliable. They needed something which could tell the people on their side what was actually happening. They needed a broadcast system to communicate attacks and deaths, so that no one would walk into a massacre, and if someone went missing, then others could be on the lookout. And she knew just who to talk to about it.

* * *

Blaise stood in the shadows of Malfoy Manor. He was supposed to be long gone, but he had heard that there was going to be a raid today, and he wanted to know who the unfortunate victims were. He had felt awful for the last few days after watching Theo get tortured so extensively. The Cruciatus curse had been used on him more times than he could count, and it made him physically sick. He wanted to help, but he knew that it would get nothing done, other than him being killed, and Theo being continuously tortured.

He heard the door open, and he peered around the corner. He had a disillusion charm on him, but with Death Eaters prowling the halls, there were never too many precautions that a person could take. He saw Greyback and Yaxley bringing in a girl. At first he couldn't identify her, but as they drew closer to where he was, he felt his face pale once he recognised her.

It was the Lovegood girl. The same one he had run into those months ago, and who had convinced him not to submit willingly to the Death Eaters.

_'Big help that's been,'_ he thought bitterly. Something inside of him snapped as he saw her look so helpless and fragile. He knew then what had to happen. He couldn't just watch idly as people he knew got tortured brutally. It simply was not right. He had to do something, or at least try. He had to get them out somehow.

It wouldn't be easy; but hopefully if he planned it well enough, they would all live. But for now, he would simply stay in the shadows, waiting for the right moment.


	40. The Escape Attempt

**Chapter 40**

Theo groaned in pain as he lay on the cold stone floor. He was currently residing in the dungeons until the next time the Death Eaters, or Voldemort, decided they wish to torture him. Even his own father had taken his turn to have his share of cursing Theo. Voldemort basically made him a toy to them, with only one rule. The Death Eaters could do whatever damage they wanted to him, as long as it didn't kill him.

He had never hated anyone so much than he did right now. He was supposed to be an example to those who defied Voldemort, but Theo wished he could have just killed him on the spot. Of course he would be dead, but there was the consolation that he wouldn't have to experience all the pain he currently felt. He couldn't move any of his limbs; the pain was far too great. So he was stuck, lying on the ground, unable to move.

He let out a soft moan as he clutched his arm. He had had a severe burning hex cast upon his right forearm, and he felt like his entire arm was on fire."

"I'm sorry, Mate," Dean said raspily. "I wish I could help, or do something to ease the pain. You helped us so much over the last few months, and there were several of times where you have saved my life. If only I still had my wand!"

Theo didn't reply. He hadn't really saved the Gryffindor's life. Sure, there were a few times where the boy's decisions may have led to serious consequences, but it wasn't anything like Dean was making it out to be. But it was him who had been cursed, not Thomas. He wasn't feeling spiteful, just that he was happy that no one else was being hurt. They didn't all need to be used as magical punching bags, simply because Voldemort was feeling wrathful.

"Pain can be felt in many ways. One does not necessary need to have been harmed to be hurt," the Lovegood girl said in a dreamy voice.

She had always confused him at Hogwarts, with her different ways. She always seemed a bit, off; like she wasn't completely ever there. However, he had to admit that she was far too insightful when it came down to it. He didn't really know why she was here, but he hoped that the dreary dungeons wouldn't break her soft spirit. There was something about her that made him want to protect her. It wasn't in a way like she was some sort of damsel in distress and he wanted to save her for the kiss, but more because he felt protective of her. In the several days that she had been in the dungeons with him, he had already begun to think of her as a sister figure. They weren't in any means even close, but it was more of the vibe she gave off.

They heard sudden footsteps, and Theo immediately stilled. It was probably another Death Eater here to have their way with him. He cringed as he knew he would probably experience more pain than he would be able to handle.

"_Lumos_," he heard a familiar voice say; Blaise. Was his friend going to torture him now as well? Was it what the other Death Eaters wanted for him? Or like Draco, did Blaise find that he enjoyed being a Death Eater and wanted to torture his old friend for a laugh?

"Theo," he heard his old friend say softly. His eyes looked pained as he approached the cell. "Oh shit, Theo, what have they done to you?"

"Used him as a bloody knife sharpener, that's what," Dean growled. "And some friend you are. Couldn't even stop them, could you?"

Blaise's eyes looked red. "Don't you think I would have, if I could? They're trailing my mother, so if I even slip up in the least, they won't hesitate to kill her! I have to watch every single move I make, just in case one of them piss the Dark Lord off."

Theo felt his stomach clench. Of course his friend was only doing this because of his mother. He felt sick thinking that he could ever think so lowly of his friend to the point where he would think Blaise could betray him.

Dean paled. "I'm sorry. I didn't know," he said quietly. "So why are you down here, if it's so dangerous? Wouldn't it be bad for them to catch you?"

Blaise shook his head. "I would just say I was torturing Theo. It would work like a charm. The Dark Lord may be slightly suspicious, but he seems to think I'm coming around, so it should be fine. I'm here to get you all out," Blaise said, after a moment.

Theo very nearly sat right up in his seat. "There is no way I am going to let you do that, Blaise! If you think for a second that I will let you risk your life for mine, then you're really messed in the head. I refuse to jeopardise your life for mine."

Blaise shook his head. "I've seen what they've done to you, Mate, and there is no way I can let you stay here. There are so many worse things they can do to you than kill you and I cannot stand by and let them do that to you."

"It's too dangerous! Think logically, Blaise. Your mother will be killed once they find out that it was you who had helped us, and trust me when I say that they will find out who let out their prisoners. Your mother's life isn't worth mine. I'll live, but once someone dies, they're gone, you idiot! Think it through."

"Do you even remember that you're not the only one in there, Theo?" Blaise asked him softly.

Theo spluttered. "Of course I do! What kind of Bleeding question is that?"

"What if they decide to kill Thomas here? Or even Lovegood, just to show you they can. If you do not come with me, then their lives will be in the hands of the Death Eaters, and if they so choose, they will give them the most painful death possible."

Blaise's eyes flickered quickly to Lovegood's, and Theo very nearly missed it. If he hadn't known any better, he would say that Blaise was worried for the girl's safety and wanted to get her out as well. He wondered about how Blaise even knew Lovegood, however now was not the time to be asking such questions.

Theo let out a resigned sigh. Even though he wanted to be free, he knew better than to rely on his friend so heavily when so many things could go wrong. But at the same time, he knew that it wasn't just him anymore. He wasn't sure how it had happened. If this situation had occurred a few months earlier, then Theo wouldn't care for his companions' lives and simply do what it took for him, and Blaise, to stay alive. However after so many months with ex-Gryffindors, Theo had to admit that he was developing a serious conscious, and he didn't quite know what to make of that.

So with that said, he knew he had to do what would allow the maximum amount of people to survive; the greater good, if you will. He hated it so much.

"Fine," Theo said sullenly. He saw Dean and Lovegood's eyes light up at the thought of leaving. The wandmaker, Ollivander, nearly let out an ecstatic cry, and even Griphook nearly smiled.

"Do you have a plan?" Dean asked eagerly as he scrambled to his feet.

Blaise nodded. "I'm going to take you all to a room. I'll disillusion all of you, but Theo, and when they ask, I'll say that I want my share of showing Theo what 'he's missed by opting not to take the wonderful opportunity he was given to be a Death Eater.' I can grab you a few extra wands, as the Manor has a few lying around in one of the defense rooms. The apparating wards allow for us to only leave from a few rooms. See the Manor is set to allow everyone who is on the approved list to floo in, and the only people allowed into those few rooms are those higher up. If we get caught, I can always saw that I got lost. The hardest part will be getting to that room, but after that, it should be easier."

"And what if one of them is able to detect the charm?" Theo asked his friend, as he mentally calculated all the things that could go wrong with the plan.

"They won't. If there is one thing I am able to do, its Disillusion charms. I can't tell you why or how, but that I can," Blaise said, and Theo knew that a lot had happened to his friends in the months since they had seen each other last.

"Okay," Theo said at last. "Let's do this."

Blaise raised his wand and wordlessly made each one of Theo's fellow prisoners invisible. Once that was done, he held his wand to Theo and wrapped weightless iron shackles to his wrists. He unlocked the dungeon doors and while everyone followed closely behind Blaise, Theo was held at wandpoint in the front.

"Sorry about this, Mate," Blaise said softly, and Theo gave a nod of understanding. Blaise led him down the halls which Draco, Blaise, and he, had often roamed around as a little kid. They passed by other Death Eaters who jeered at him as they walk passed. If Theo didn't know any better, he would have hexed them, or at least growl at them.

It seemed to well, until they turned the corner.

"Well, well. Has our newbie decided to have some fun with our newest prisoner?" Theo heard a voice crackle. He looked up to see Bellatrix standing directly in front of them. Theo very nearly took in a sharp breath, before catching himself.

Blaise simply smirked at her. "Why would I give up the chance to do so? Nott here was foolish enough to not join up when he had the chance, and I just want to show him the perks, if you will, of the job."

She gave him her crooked tooth smile. "Of course you wouldn't. Be sure to give him a few hexes for me Dearie."

Theo watched as his dead friend's crazy aunt walked out of his sight, before letting out a breath of relief as he let his friend continue to lead him to the room.

The rest of the walk was uneventful, and it wasn't until Blaise had shut the door of the destination room, that Theo began to relax. The hardest part was over, and all that was left was for them to leave.

"The floo network is reserved for the Death Eaters and you can't apparate directly to any base, as they may be suspicious. I want you all to apparated to a forest, any forest, and then to Hogwarts. Tell McGonagall that I sent you, and she will get you help," Blaise said urgently, as he turned to face the far wall. He opened an unlocked cabinet and was about to pull out a range of wands when they heard a slow clapping sound.

Theo turned to see Voldemort standing across room with Bellatrix standing beside him. She wore a wicked grin as she smirked at him. Voldemort waved his wand and all the disillusion charms came undone.

"How?" Blaise croaked.

Bellatrix crooked her lips, "I got a bit suspicious when I heard that you personally wanted to torture one of your friends. You see, you were always so hesitant to attack others, and there is no way that you would want to hurt one of your dear friends. You're far too _compassionate_ for that," she said, spitting out the words. "So I went down to the dungeons to see the rest of the prisoners were doing. And you can only imagine my surprise when I found the cells completely empty!

"I must say, Mr. Zabini, when you joined my side, I had my suspicions about you. I never entrusted any big mission to you, or shared any incriminating secret with you. And for a while, I even suspected that you may have been plotting against me with your silent rebellion. But then you grew more compliant, more obeying, and I had very nearly thought that you were coming around, and beginning to see the light. But obviously I was wrong," Voldemort said coolly.

"I was never yours to begin with," Blaise hissed angrily.

"And that is where you're mistaken," Voldemort said without any emotion. "What you don't understand is that we made a deal, Zabini. And I hate it when people go back on the deals I make with them. But you know what? It's a good think that I also happen to have insurance on you, now isn't it?"

Blaise paled considerably. "No. No, you wouldn't touch her."

Voldemort merely chuckled. "Of course I would. You see, I've wanted to get rid of your pesky Mother for quite some time. And you see I also need a branch of soldiers. Ones who are unquestioning to any order I give them, and ones who cannot think for themselves. And you will be the first of these soldiers."

_"Imperio,"_ Voldemort said simply, as he flicked his wand.

"No!" Blaise yelled, but it was useless. Blaise suddenly straightened and looked to Voldemort as if waiting an order.

"Take them back to their cells," he commanded.

Theo felt his gut tighten. They had been so close to escaping from the house, but now it was too late. Nothing could save them now.

* * *

Hermione sat against a tree with Draco beside her. It had been almost an hour since Harry had taken off on his own into the woods. While the trip was not uncommon, the duration of his outing was longer than any of the previous ventures. She was worried that something had happened to him, and she really had no way of knowing.

Draco squeezed her hand, and she turned her head to look at him. He always knew whenever something was bothering her.

"He'll be fine, Hermione," Draco said softly. "He probably wants some time to himself."

She nodded. She was probably being irrational, but she still worried anyways. Harry was like her brother, and she couldn't afford to lose him.

They heard footsteps, and they both instantly turned in the direction of the sound. She saw two figures approaching them, one ahead of the other. Draco drew his wand, while Hermione stood closely by him, as Harry currently had hers in his possession. The closer they came, the more recognizable they were.

"Harry!" Hermione said loudly, and her friend smiled at him. He was carrying something in his hand, and she gasped when she could make out what it was. "Where did you get that?" she demanded, as she gestured to the sword in his hand. It was the Sword of Gryffindor, and Harry most certainly did not have it before he left the camp.

"Hermione, there's a lot to explain," Harry started softly.

"Where did you get that sword, Harry?" she repeated. Her eyes flickered to the person beside him, and she knew instantly who it was.

"It was at the bottom of a lake. I went down to get it, and I was stuck down there. I would have died, but he rescued me," Harry said softly. "We destroyed the Horcrux."

She didn't care. She didn't care that they now had a weapon to destroy the Horcruxes, or that they were on step closer to bringing down Voldemort. All she seemed to care about was the fact that _he_ was here.

"Give me my wand, Harry," she said, her voice trembling softly.

"Hermione," Harry started.

"Give me my wand, Harry!" She shouted, as she yanked it out of his hand.

She stuck her wand out and pointed it directly at Ron. "How dare you come back? After everything you did; after everything you said! Did you think I would welcome you back with open arms? Leave, Ron. Go back to wherever you were. I don't want you here!"

"Hermione," Ron started, but she cut him off.

"No, you don't get to talk. You don't get to say anything to me. Just go. We were doing fine without you."

His face looked pained, but she didn't care. He had hurt her so much, and she couldn't feel any sympathy for him.

"Hermione, Love," Draco started softly.

"Not you too!" she said, as she turned to face him. "Don't tell me you're siding with them!"

"You should give him the chance to apologise," Draco said gently.

Angry tears formed in her eyes. Why couldn't anyone see it from her point of view? She turned from them all, and ran into the woods.

"Hermione!" she heard Draco shout.

"No, let me," another voice said.

* * *

She sat on a log by the river, tears flooding her face. She used the back of her hand to wipe them away from her face.

"I'm sorry," a voice called out from behind her. She turned around to see Ron standing there, with an apologetic look on his face. "I was wrong to say everything I did to you, and I had no right to say any of those horrible things."

"Do you even begin to understand how those words made me feel, Ronald?" she said quietly. "I felt so worthless; like I was some meaningless object you could break and tear into a hundred pieces. I didn't deserve that."

"No, you didn't," Ron agreed.

"So what would possess you to say something so awful to me?"

"I was angry at Harry, and I lashed out. But I had no right to say those things to you, and for that, I'm sorry," Ron said, pausing. "I was jealous and the fact that you chose Harry reminded me how once again you weren't choosing me. I know I have no right to be, especially seeing that I didn't take my chance when I had it, but dammit Hermione, I'm so in love with you, and I can't get over my feelings for you."

She stared at him, stunned. "I'm with Draco," she said finally.

"I know," he said in a defeated voice.

"I love him," she said again.

"I know."

"I'm not going to leave him," she said firmly.

"I know. But I'm not going to give up. If he happens to mess this up somehow, then I will be waiting. And if I ever get a chance again, I won't hesitate to take it."

She swallowed before replying. "We should go back now," she said.

Ron seemed to accept this. While he knew that she didn't fully accept his apology, he was also one step closer to being in her good books, and that counted for something.


	41. The Snatchers

**Chapter 41**

It had been a few days since Ron had returned, and since then the camp had been slightly tense. Harry had been ecstatic to have his best friend back, but Hermione had been unsure of how to proceed. Draco had sensed that something had happened between the two of them, but trusted her enough to tell him if anything were wrong. She hadn't had the chance to tell him about the incident, but knew that he would be furious if he found out that Ron still cared for her. Well, he'd be more than furious. If Ron ever tried anything physical, Draco would probably cast every single spell he knew at the boy. But she knew that she should be honest with Draco, so whenever an opportunity presented itself, she would be sure to tell him.

Hermione listened to the broadcast of _Potterwatch_, a radio channel which Ron had introduced them to. Apparently, Ginny and the rest of the Order had found a way to get information to the world; real information which the Voldemort wasn't censoring for his convenience. It was complete brilliance to create the channel as a means to let others know where Death Eaters were currently attacking, or who had been killed.

She had gasped when she had heard news of the Ted Tonk's death, and she knew that it had affected Draco. He hadn't said anything, but the expression on his face spoke for him. He squeezed his eyes shut, and she took his hand in hers and held on tightly.

Draco never talked much about it, but she knew that his father had not been there for him as Draco had grown up. The one time he had opened up, he had told her how his father used to spend hours upon hours preaching the worthlessness of muggles and teaching Draco dark curses should he ever come across one. Draco had assured her that he never had any intentions of doing so, despite his beliefs of muggle inferiority at the time. Lucius Malfoy had also cast dark curses upon Draco when he failed to meet his father's standards, and his mother had been powerless to stop him. Hermione could not fathom how a father could ever hurt their own child, but she knew that the world Draco had grown up was very much different from hers. So to Draco, the boy who basically grew up without a father, Ted Tonks had meant a lot to him. He had shown Draco that people could care for him, and that Draco deserved familial love.

Draco was still, but his grip on her hand tightened. Harry look stricken at the news, and Ron had paled significantly. While they had not known the other victims, it did not go unnoticed by Hermione that Theodore or Dean's name was not amongst the casualties. She silently prayed for them both. While she did not know Theo Nott, he had been a good friend to Draco, so she wished for his wellbeing.

She knew Ron's eyes were watching the contact between her and Draco. He had not said anything since that night about wanting to be with her, and she had nearly forgotten about it. But every now and then, he would go and do something, like place his arm around her for slightly too long, or touch her hair intimately, and she knew his feelings still lingered. She wanted nothing more for him to get over her. It had even seemed that he did not like her anymore for a long time, but then he had to go and say that he still cared for her. She shook her head at the thought. Ron didn't love her; he couldn't. Love meant accepting the other person's faults, and not judging them for their actions. Love meant unconditional love, and not only when it was convenient. Ron Weasley was stubborn and would never let go of anything, and like so, he refused to let go of her, and would not see past his crush to all the reasons why the two of them were not well suited for each other,

She leaned into Draco's chest, wrapping an arm around him, and he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. She loved Draco, and she knew that nothing could change that. He suited her, better than anyone ever had or ever could. He comforted her when she was upset, and showed her that he loved her daily. If only Ron could find someone who could love him like she loved Draco.

The broadcast was currently making a joke about numerous You-Know-Whos, to which Hermione grimaced at the irony. There may not be multiple Voldemorts, but unfortunately he had multiple soul fragments.

"Keep each other safe. Keep faith. Goodnight," the voice on the Deluminator said, signing the radio broadcast off for the night.

"Did you hear what Fred said?" Harry said excitedly. "He's abroad! He's looking for the wand!"

A few weeks ago, Harry had come up with this theory that Voldemort was after the Elder wand. She had tried to persuade him that Voldemort wouldn't go after such a thing, as he knew it couldn't exist. But she had to admit, some points Harry stated, made sense. It was only logical that Voldemort would try to seek a wand that didn't interfere with Harry's. It also fit with why Harry had seen a few visions of Voldemort tracking families himself, and why he seemed to be searching for something. But she didn't want to believe it. It wasn't that she wasn't open to believing in things that were myths, after all she had discovered a whole new world which she never would have imagined could have existed. But she didn't want anything to distract Harry. The number one priority had to be to find all the Horcruxes before Voldemort found out what they were up to.

"Harry," she started to say. She was going to tell him that she thought that he may have a point with where he was going, but then he cut her off.

"No Hermione, you have to listen to me! Vold-" Harry argued, before Ron had cut him off.

"Harry, don't say the name!" Ron urged with more force than usual, and all of a sudden something clicked in her mind. She realised how it was that the Death Eaters had found them in that diner the night of Bill's wedding, and how Snatchers were able to find people so easily. Ted and the rest of his camp seemed so resourceful, so it was unlikely that some Death Eater had randomly stumbled upon their camp. The only way they could have been found was if the Death Eaters knew their exact location. She in took a sharp breath, as her eye's widened with shock.

But the entire thing happened so fast, and before Hermione could say anything, Harry had finished the name.

"demort wants the Elder wand!"

"THE NAME IS TABOO!" Ron shouted out. "We need to strengthen the protection charms around the tent immediately! We need to add as many more layers as possi-"

But she knew it was too late to do anything. She knew it from the second the name had been uttered. She heard voices from outside the tent, and knew before anything had been said that they were surrounded.

"Come out of there with your hands up! We know you're in there! You've got half a dozen wands pointing at you and we don't care who we curse!"

* * *

It was all over. The minute the Death Eaters realised who he was he was screwed. But before he could leave the tent, he felt two spells hit him. What the Hell? He looked up in confusion to see Harry's face bruised and swollen. The change to him was not significant, but to someone who did not know him, it was monumental. The first spell he did not recognise, but from the reflection on the sword lying on the ground, he could tell that his appearance now resembled that of Scorpius White, which he used when the Minister had visited him. The second spell was easier to recognise, as he could feel a voice in his head commanding him; the Imperious Curse.

"As a precaution," Hermione whispered softly, as they made their way out of the tent.

He let out a slight air of breath. If anyone had been able to get off the appearance transfiguration, then they would be met with the Imperious Curse, which could serve as an alibi should Draco be questioned about his defection. Hopefully, it would not have to be tested.

"Get up, Vermin," the raspy voice Draco recognised all too well, said to Harry. Fenrir Greyback was just as horrid as he had been during their last meeting. Harry struggled to get up, and Draco could honestly say that he pitied the boy. While he got off slightly easier, he knew that Harry must have been in a bit of pain from Hermione's spell.

The werewolf dragged Harry to his feet and threw him out of the tent. Draco quickly exited the tent, and helped a disoriented Harry up. The boy's eyes were swollen, and Draco guessed that it made it difficult for the boy to see, especially without his glasses.

"Search the tent," Greyback ordered his companions, and two of them men immediately went to work. "Now, let's start with you, Ugly, shall we? What's your name?" Greyback demanded, as the fourth man held out a list of what appeared to be names.

"Vernon Dursley," Harry said immediately as he held his head up high. As a Gryffindor would, Harry did not show any fear upon his face. Draco was curious about why the boy would pick the name of his uncle, but chalked it up to be spontaneous thinking.

"Check the list, Scabior," Greyback told his partner gruffly.

The other man, Scabior, scanned through the list, apparently trying to find whether Harry's fake name was on there. Draco held his breath, knowing full well that the name wouldn't appear on the list. He watched in silence as Greyback went on to interrogate Ron, who had given the name Bardy Weasley, the same name Harry used at Bill's wedding.

While he hadn't completely forgiven Ron's words to Hermione, he knew that the right thing would be to overlook it. The boy clearly had some sort of unresolved feelings for Hermione, and had let his infamous temper get in the way. But for the sake of their mission, he knew that they needed every one of the four to help, so he didn't do anything to Ron. And now that Hermione had forgiven him, he knew that murdering her best friend wouldn't win him any points. However if Ron kept up his antics after the war was done, Draco wouldn't hesitate to take action.

"And what about you, girly?" Greyback breathed, as his face came close to Hermione's.

"P-Penelope Clearwater," Hermione said nervously.

"Blood status?"Greyback asked as he ran his finger down her face, causing her to turn her head to the side.

"Don't touch her!" Draco said sharply, before he could catch himself. He wanted to punch the bastard for being so close to Hermione, especially seeing how uncomfortable it made her.

His outburst had turned Greyback's attention to him. "And who may you be?" Greyback asked him harshly. As the Death Eater approached him, Draco was terrified that he would recognise him, despite the change in his appearance.

"Scorpius White," Draco replied coldly. "Half-blood."

"Well White, I don't like your attitude. I don't think any of you seem to understand the situation you're in. You see, you all are here wandless, standing in front of us. So pissing us off wouldn't be in your best interests. And on top of that, you've got a known blood-traitor in your midst, so that doesn't win you any favour points. And lastly, one of you clearly has said the Dark Lord's name, showing him the utmost disrespect. So with all of that, maybe you should rethink your position."

His statement caused Draco to scoff.

"You know who says His name so casually? The Order. That's why the Dark Lord placed a Taboo on his name. It's been so helpful, and also allowed us to catch several members and other scum," Greyback said viciously. "Oi, Scabior! Who was the name of those idiots who said his name a few days ago?"

Scabior looked up from his lists. "The ones with the goblins?" he asked. Once he got a confirmation, he shrugged. "Dunno. Never cared enough to learn their names after finding out that some of them were on the list. Stupid lot though; though they could actually fight us! Well now several of them are dead, and you know what I say? It's a good thing they're gone. Few less scum in the world."

Draco knew immediately who they were talking about, and something in him just snapped. He had been holding in all the anger over his uncle's death to the point where he finally needed to release it all.

"Shut up!" Draco yelled at Scabior. "You don't know anything about what true scum is. Look in a bloody mirror; do you honestly think that you are any better than they were? You should have been the ones who died, not them. They did nothing to deserve this! They were good people, and you took innocent lives! How do you live with yourselves, you bastards?"

Hermione looked like she wanted to say something to calm him down, but before she could, Greyback angrily held his wand up at him.

"And I suppose yeh think you're better than us, do yeh?" Greyaback said, as his wand dug into Draco's skin.

"I know I am," Draco said, deciding it was too late to back down, and that he didn't want to anyway.

"Greyback, you should see what we found!" A voice from inside the tent called out.

"Stupid kids," Greyback muttered under his breath. "I'll deal with you later, but for now, _Stupefy_."

Draco tried to dodge the curse, but something was forcing him to stay in his spot. His eyes widened as he looked at Hermione. He remembered seeing her eyes were apologetic before losing consciousness.

* * *

She let out a breath. Obviously a sword in tent would raise some questions, but Harry had fended off the accusations rather easily.

She held Draco's limp hand gently as she kept her eyes on their captors. She hated that she had toforce him to stay in the path of the spell, but she was terrified that he would anger them further. She had been right when she guessed Draco would try to take out his anger, with good reason, on Greyback. And while she wished to let him continue, they were armed, and he was not. There was no telling what sort of spells they would use on him, and he had gotten off easily with a simple stunning spell.

"'Ang on a minute, Greyback. Look at this!" One of the men who had been inside the tent said excitedly as he waved around the _Daily Prophet_.

Hermione tensed slightly. She had long stopped her subscription to the paper, but she had a very good idea of what it said.

"_'Ermione Granger, the mudblood who is known to be travelling with 'Arry Potter. _Doesn't that girl in the picture look like 'er?"

Greyback examined the picture silently before the corners of his lips curled up into a twisted smile. "You know what, girly? This picture looks a lot like you, _Clearwater_."

Hermione's breath staggered. No! They were so close to being let off. The last thing she needed was for them to all be recognised.

"It's not me! I swear, it isn't me," she cried out, desperate for them to believe her, but she knew that it was too late. They already figured out who she was, and it was only a matter of moments before they figured out about Harry.

"_…known to be travelling with Harry Potter_," Greyback mused over the last part of the paper. His eyes immediately flickered to Harry's swollen face. He approached her friend and touched the part of Harry;s forehead where his scar was.

"Don't touch it!" Harry said harshly, as if he were in pain from the touch. And while Greyback could not cause such a feeling, she knew who could.

"I thought you wore glasses, Potter?" Greyback said, smirking over the fact that Harry had confirmed his identity.

"I found them! I found the glasses," a snatcher in the background said in a desperate voice. "They were in the tent, Greyback…" the snatcher was saying eagerly as the glasses were snatched out of his hands and rammed onto Harry's face.

"Well, well, will you look at that? We caught Harry Potter. You know what this means, boys? We'll be rewarded so handsomely for this."

"Are we taking them to the Ministry?" Scabior asked him.

Greyback shook his head. "No, they'll take all the credit. We should take him straight to the Dark Lord. I hear he's been using the Malfoy house as a base. We'll take them there," Greyback said, gesturing to her, Ron, and Harry.

"But what about him?" Scabior asked, motioning to an unconscious Draco Malfoy.

Greyback shrugged casually. "Does it matter? The reward's on the three of them. We'll bring the boy when we turn Potter over to the Dark Lord, and if we're lucky, he may decide to give the girl to me as well as the money," Greyback said, as he licked his lips. "Who cares what he does with the extras?"

Hermione looked at him with disgust. There was no way in Hell she would ever let herself be given away like some sort of slave. She may be a muggleborn, but contrary to Voldemort's beliefs, she was still a person! However, before she could object, she found herself bound by chains.

"What are you doing!?" She yelled out as she felt the chains dig into her wrists. The others were also bound up in a similar fashion.

Greyback shot her a sinister smile. "We're taking a little trip," he said with a growl, however before Hermione could ask him to elaborate, they had apparated.

When she had found her bearings once more, she looked up and saw and enormous mansion in front of her. However the only thought running through her head was that this was not how she planned on meeting her boyfriend's parents.


	42. Malfoy Manor

**Chapter 42**

Draco had woken up from his state of unconsciousness and immediately knew where he was; home. When he had joined the Order, he had given up any thoughts about ever seeing this place again, at least until the war was over, yet here he was. Draco was confused at first, the Snatchers should have taken them straight to the Ministry, unless it wasn't Ministry officials they needed to see. The only reason they would be here was if they were being taken to Voldemort, meaning they must have been found out.

Draco quickly glanced over to a nearby pond on the property to check his reflection as he was marched forward. He didn't know what had transpired while he had been unconscious, and for all he knew his appearance had been restored. He let out a breath when he saw the black hair in his reflection.

His mother was the first person he had seen once they entered the house. She was paler and thinner from the last time he had seen her, and her age had begun to show on her previous youthful face. The war must have been hard on her, especially thinking that her only son was dead.

"Is it true? You have Potter?" his mother asked as her eyes skimmed Harry. She paid him little attention as she lightly moved Harry's hair out of the way to try and see his scar. Thankfully, Harry's face was still bruised and swollen just enough to make it hard to detect who he was. His scar was covered in dirt and sweat thus masking it. "What happened to his face?"

Greyback shook his head, "I don't know, Mrs Malfoy. It was like that when we found the four of them."

"Four?" his father asked sharply, stepping out of the shadows with his aunt Bellatrix. He hadn't realised that his aunt was staying in the home, but her presence made it bad news for them. With her here, it would be harder to even attempt an escape plan.

"That would make you Mr Weasley, and you Miss Granger," Lucius said, as he nodded at Hermione and Ron. Hermione turned her face away slightly, to avoid his father's scrutinizing gaze. "But who would you be?" his father asked, addressing Draco.

"Scorpius White," Draco said, attempting to keep his voice as level as possible. He felt his mother and father's eyes upon him and immediately saw a flicker of recognition in his mother's eyes. His father, however, remained emotionless.

"I see," his father said coolly.

"We want our payment," Scabior said raspily. "We brought in the Undesirables, now give us our money."

Bellatrix attempted to shoo them away, "Yes, you will be paid in time. Now we must present them to the Dark Lord."

"We would like our money now," Greyback said, intervening Bellatrix's attempt to get rid of the Snatchers.

"Soon," Bellatrix insisted, as she raised up her sleeve to reveal her dark mark. "I shall summon the Dark Lord first."

His father interrupted her by grabbing her wrist. "No, Bellatrix. This is my house, I shall summon him here. Therefore, it is upon my authority-"

"Your authority?" Bellatrix asked with an incredulous laugh. "It stopped being your _authority_ the minute your wand was lost. Let go of me, Lucius."

"This has nothing to do with you," Lucius insisted. "You didn't capture the boy-"

"No, Mr Malfoy, it was us who did. So if you pardon me, it will be _us_ who receives the gold," Greyback said, cutting into the conversation.

Hermione shot Draco a look of desperation. If Voldemort came now, then everything they had been striving for would be lost. There were at least four undestroyed Horcruxes, none of which any of them knew the whereabouts of.

"Gold?" Bellatrix said with a shriek. "You think I care about _gold?_ I want the **honour** of brining the Dark Lord Potter, not something as meaningless as gold." Bellatrix ripped her arm away from Lucius and was about to place her wand to her forearm, before something stopped her. Her eyes widened as she nearly fell backwards. "Where did you get that?" Bellatrix said, in an alarmingly low voice, as she pointed to the sword that Scabior was currently holding.

"Found it in the tent," the Snatcher replied gruffly.

"Give it to me," she demanded.

"It's mine! I found it," Scabior said, as he held the sword away from her.

"I said give it to me!" she screamed out. "_Stupefy._"

Scabior fell to the ground, and when the others tried to protest, they received an equal treatment. None of them had stood a chance against his psychotic aunt, and they were all currently on the ground, except for Greyback, who kneeled at her feet in defeat.

Satisfied, Bellatrix turned her attention to the four prisoners. "Now, how did you get the sword?" She asked them, a look of both fury and fright plastered on her face.

"Does that even matter? We have Potter, just summon the Dark Lord," Lucius said, not at all understanding her sudden fascination.

"You don't understand the danger we're in! If we summon him here without knowing how they got the sword, he'll kill us all!" Bellatrix shouted at his father.

She paused for a moment, and Draco could see her cold calculating eyes think about how to proceed next.

"Take them all to the dungeons…all except for the Mudblood," she said, addressing his father, with a cruel smile flitting across her face.

Draco could guess where his aunt was going with her sudden plan, and in a hurry, he did not stop to think before screaming out, "NO!"

All of a sudden, her gaze fell upon him. "Scorpius White…how familiar you look. Well, seeing how insistent you are, I suppose I can allow you to join us," she said cruelly.

"No!" Hermione shouted out, but it was too late, Harry and Ron were already being ushered away, to the dungeons.

Bellatrix closed the doors to the drawing room, leaving only one Death Eater behind. She had sent his parents off to go contact Gringotts to inquire how her vault had been broken into, a task Draco could not understand why would be necessary. Draco knew his aunt loved having an audience as she tortured people. Instinctively, he turned to face the other Death Eater.

His eyes widened as he saw that it was none other than Blaise, the friend who swore that he would never join up willingly. He didn't know how he had managed not to notice his friend before.

Blaise was facing him, and Draco looked up to meet his eyes. He wanted to see if his friend recognised him, and wanted to know what Blaise would do if he did. However Blaise simply looked right through him, his eyes glazed over. As a person who had grown up around dark magic, Draco knew immediately that Blaise was under the _Imperious _curse and was not there under his own violation. If Draco got the chance, he would break his friend out of it; he owed him that much.

Bellatrix turned to face them. "Miss Granger, this can happen one of two ways. You can either tell me how you got the sword, or I'll torture you and your friend until you do."

"We found it," Hermione said quickly, trying to divert her attention from Draco. He knew that Hermione was worried that his aunt would figure it out.

Bellatrix scoffed. "Right, I suppose you just happened to stumble upon it? Tell me, how did you get if from my vault at Gingotts?"

"I didn't!" Hermione insisted. "I swear, we found it!"

Bellatrix looked bored, "_Crucio_," she said with a flick of her wand. "I can do this all day, Mudblood, so the sooner you tell me, the better."

Hermione's screams echoed over the entire Manor, and Draco felt something tear him apart.

"She's telling the truth," Draco shouted out. "Stop it!"

Bellatrix turned her attention to him. "Really? Why don't you tell me who you really are, _White_? I know that's not your real name, so spare us all, and reveal yourself."

"No," Draco said simply.

"No?" She repeated, in a disbelieving voice. "How dare you take that tone with me! _Crucio_!" she yelled out.

Draco felt his entire body quake with pain. Part of him was tempted to just give in and tell her everything. But he knew that it would do nothing. So instead he resisted.

When Bellatrix was satisfied, she removed the spell. "Now, let's try that again, shall we? Reveal yourself!"

"I won't!" Draco yelled out, however, he instantly knew something was wrong when she smiled at him.

"Won't…or can't?" she asked with a twisted grin. "By the look on the Mudblood's face, I'll have to go with the latter."

She cast a spell upon him, revealing the presence of the _Imperious_ curse Hermione had placed upon him as a precaution.

"An Unforgiveable? Looks like someone has been rather naughty! Oh I love it when the Light breaks their code of conduct! Now, let's reveal who you really are, shall we? _Finite Incantatem._"

Draco felt the release from the curse and simultaneously, he knew that his appearance was being restored.

"_Draco_?" his aunt asked in shocked confusion. "You died on that tower! We all saw your body, and it was lifeless!"

"Yes, well the Order seems to have quite a number of tricks up their sleeves. They've kept me as prisoner all these months," Draco said quickly, formulating a cover story. Hermione had placed a defeated look upon her face, and Draco knew that she was playing along.

Blaise's eyes remained glazed over, but Draco could have sworn that his friend nearly broke out of the curse momentarily. Draco knew that he had to do something about it to change to the odds to his favour.

"Aunt Bella, I would like my wand back, if you please. It's been months since I've been able to wield it by my own violation," Draco said, returning a drawl to his voice. It had been months since he had spoken with superiority in his tone, but he had to sound as convincing as possible, so using his old habits would be best.

"Of course, Draco," she said with a grin. "Then you can punish this little mudblood bitch for all the hell she must have put you through." Bellatrix waved her wand and instantly procured Draco's wand.

Well now he had a weapon to get out of here, but somehow, he would need to break out Hermione, Harry, and Ron. He wasn't sure what Blaise would want to do, so he would leave that to his friend to figure out.

Draco turned his back to his aunt so she wouldn't see his wand movements. Pointing it at his friend, he silently cast the _Finite Incantatem_ on his friend to remove the _Imperious._

It was a good thing that Bellatrix's attention was currently focused completely on Hermione because when Blaise came out from under the spell, he was anything but subtle. Blaise looked at Draco, eyes filled with shock; whether it was because Draco was alive, or that he had lifted the spell from Blaise, Draco did not know. Draco silently shook his head at his old friend, to indicate that all will be revealed to him at a later time. However now, Draco needed to figure out just how he was planning on getting out of a room with one of the most dangerous witches blocking the exit.

* * *

To say Theo was surprised would be an understatement. After being in the dungeons for Salazaar knows how long with no visits, it was getting rather boring. But boring meant no pain, no torture, and no death for him, for which Theo did not complain. So when to doors to the dungeon opened, Theo felt his heart race with fear. He had finally begun to heal from the last torture session, but he didn't know how long he would be able to last this time.

But nobody came in to get him. Instead, two bodies got thrown down into the cellars. He knew that the newest guests were obviously alive, but he had no idea how badly they were injured.

"Harry? Ron?" Dean called out once he recognized the two.

"Dean?" Potter asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Snatchers. They caught us in the woods a few weeks ago; been here ever since," Dean said, instantly brightening up at the sight of his fellow Gryffindors.

"I'm glad to see you're alive, Harry," Luna's voice said softly, making Potter and Weasley aware of her presence.

"Not you too! How did they get you, Luna?" Harry asked her with a worried tone.

"Grabbed me off the train; probably because of my father's articles in support of you. Mr. Ollivander is in here too, as well as Theodore."

He felt the attention in the room shift to him. Potter looked unsure of him, and Weasley looked like he was trying really hard to hold back a retort, making him slightly constipated.

However neither boy said anything to him as a piercing female scream echoed off the walls of the dungeons.

"HERMIONE!" Weasley bellowed out, his voice bouncing off the dungeons.

"Shut up, Ron!" Potter snapped. "We need to think of a way to get out of here before Voldemort shows up. We need to be able to rescue Hermione and Draco as well."

Theo's mind snapped to attention as the second name was mentioned. Ignoring the light of a Deluminator or whatever Weasley had called it, filling the room, Theo turned his attention to the _Chosen One_.

"What did you mean, 'save Draco'?" Theo asked him sharply.

Potter looked hesitant, as if he realised that he had said something which he ought not to have said.

"You can trust him," Dean said. "He was with us in the forest, and he save our arses more times than we can count."

Potter seemed satisfied with his answer. In Theo's opinion, a bit too trusting of his friend's word, like a true Gryffindor. But Theo supposed that was one of the many things that separated the two of them.

"Draco joined the Order while we were in school," Potter started.

"Are you bloody shitting me?" Theo sputtered out. He had suspected that Draco had given in and gone to the Death Eaters, but he never once would have guessed that Draco had completely abandoned the system.

"We faked his death, to get him out alive," Potter finished. "He's been on the run with us for months."

Theo was furious. "The bloody arse. We were supposed to deal with it together, and instead he goes and joins the freaking Order, and doesn't even tell us? Selfish little prig. Wait until I give him a piece of my mind," Theo muttered.

Apparently that was not the reaction Potter and Weasley were expecting. But to hide the face, Potter began to rustle through his pockets, while Weasley turned his attention to the other prisoners.

"Help us! We're in the dungeons at Malfoy Manor, help us!" Potter yelled out at a glass shred on the ground. Had months on the run turned the boy insane? Theo hoped for all of their sakes that this was not the case.

"WHAT ELSE DID YOU TAKE FROM MY VAULT?" Bellatrix's voice yelled out in resonance. Theo couldn't hear Granger's response, but judging from the scream that ensued, Theo knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Let's try this once more, shall we? How did you get into my vault to take that sword?" Bellatrix asked the girl.

"It's a fake! I swear, it's a fake," Granger cried out, her voice dripping with pain.

"It should be easy enough to check that," he heard Lucius say. Draco's father must have re-entered the room after leaving it briefly.

"Get the Goblin," Bellatrix commanded Lucius, and almost immediately Theo heard the footsteps approach them.

"Say it's a fake," he heard Potter urge Griphook. "Please! Don't tell them the truth."

The goblin said nothing as the doors opened and Lucius grabbed him from the cellar. Theo hoped for Granger's sake that Griphook would lie. Goblins were tricky, and rarely got involved in human business if it didn't benefit them.

There was a pop, almost like one from apparition, but one Theo knew to be from elf magic. He turned around to see Potter addressing the Malfoy's disowned elf.

"_Dobby?_" Potter asked, stunned.

"Dobby has come to save Harry Potter," The elf said happily.

"How did you get in here?" Potter asked him sharply. "Can you Disapperate in the cellar, Dobby?"

The house elf happily nodded his head, as his large ears waved slightly.

"And you can take others with you?" Potter asked once more, only to receive a similar response.

"Right then. Dobby, I want you take Dean, Luna, Mr. Ollivander, Griphook, and Nott with you, then come back for Ron, Hermione, Draco, and I."

"That doesn't work for me, Potter," Nott says. "Blaise is still here, under the Imperious curse, and I want to get him out of here as well. I'll go with you and help grab him."

"Then there will be too many people to get out! It will be six of us, and who knows if Dobby can manage to apparate that many people? This way we can split it near even. We'll grab Zabini and bring him with us."

"Not a chance!" Theo scoffed. "How do I know you won't just leave him? Besides, he won't trust you, hell, I'm not even sure that I do. But Blaise trusts me and it will make it easier to get him out."

Potter looked like he wanted to argue, but knew that time was ticking away, especially once he heard Granger let out another scream.

"Okay, Dobby, take the four of them to…Shell Cottage – Bill and Fleur's place. Can you manage to apparate the six of us?"

Dobby looked slightly worried, but his eager smile returned. "Dobby shall do his best, Harry Potter." The elf snapped his fingers, and the bonds against their skin immediately vanished. Dobby then gathered up Theo's cellmates, and with a _pop_, the five of them were gone.

"Did you hear that?" Bellatrix said above them. "Something's happening in the dungeons Wormtail, go and check on the prisoners."

Potter gestured for them to be silent as the stood by the door, waiting for Wormtail to come so that they could ambush him. Theo silently prayed that nothing would go wrong with their escape attempt, but knew that it would be a long shot for all of them to leave unscathed.

* * *

**A/N:** Hey guys! I wanted to take this moment to thank you all for your continuous support. I had originally planned to make the Malfoy Manor all in one chapter, but while writing it I knew that the only way it would be able to happen if it was rushed. So I decided it was better to split it up and do a better job.


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